Maria Hasenstab: From dropout to obtaining your GED, that’s already a success story by many measures. Can you tell me how then that evolved into going to college?
Mary Daly: That’s a really good question. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without a mentor of mine, Betsy. And it’s interesting. After I dropped out of school, I reached back to one of the guidance counselors because I was feeling a little bit underwater, not just financially, but just, I’m 15 and I’m on my own, living with friends. And I don’t really know what to do next. And she put me in touch with Betsy, who was also working in the schools.
And I started talking to Betsy, and Betsy mentored me. And she said, “Mary, you should get a GED.” And then she said, when I got the GED, and I thought I’d apply for a bus driver job so I’d get union wages and health benefits, and she said, “I think you could apply for college. You could start at the community college, or you could maybe do a semester at 'UMSL,' University of Missouri-St. Louis.”
So I applied. I got in. I couldn’t believe it. And then I couldn’t afford it. So she paid for my first semester, $216 for a first semester, full term. And I did OK. And then she said, “Go ahead, maybe try a four-year degree.” And so that’s what I did.
Maria Hasenstab: Wow. That was great that you had that support system.
Mary Daly: It was essential. I don’t know—I mean, there’s no way that I would have been able to find my way without some help. And it just reminds me of the importance of mentors at any point in your life, but especially when you’re young, having someone say, “I see something in you that you don’t see in yourself. And I see opportunities for you that you don’t even imagine.” And then I took them, and here I am.