As per Indeed, the average nanny salary in New York City is over $50,000. Even though it usually requires hard work, the job can help pay the bills and frequently doesn’t call for a college degree.
However, Lyn Thomas, a 30-year-old nanny, always dreamed of attending college regardless of her role. She now proudly holds an associate’s degree and wants to enroll at Hunter College to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Credits: Video
Thomas traveled to New York at 18 to be with her mother after leaving the Caribbean country of Grenada. She ultimately found work as a nanny and a housekeeper. She became pregnant with her daughter when she was 26 years old.
“Her father left us before we even got to the hospital where she was born,” Thomas claims.
A few years later, Thomas married another guy, but the marriage failed due to the husband’s addiction troubles, and things worsened, she said.
“He took everything; every dollar I had saved, he stole it,” said Thomas. “I lost my apartment, and my daughter and I slept in my Toyota Camry for a while. My daughter asked me, “Mommy, are we rich or poor?”
The Lord greatly blesses us. Thomas responded to her.
She had always wanted to finish school, but as time passed, many things happened.
Thomas didn’t receive her GED until she was 48 years old. A few years later, at 51, she graduated from Borough of Manhattan Community College with an associate’s degree in public health.
“I worked very hard for this,” Thomas said. “I didn’t have a high school diploma.” Because I’m a go-getter, you can’t tell me no. “I will do it.”
That brought about a unique set of difficulties. Thomas says that for the bulk of nannies in New York City, making the time and expense required to finish an educational program, much less earn a college degree, is not an option that many nanny-hiring families will accept.
Lyn Thomas, who will graduate from BMCC in the spring of 2022, says, “You are never too old to get your high school equivalency degree (GED) and enroll in college.”
Even on the dean’s list, Thomas was listed!
She spent decades cleaning homes and working as a nanny to survive. Her passion was for her neighborhood to access good healthcare and nutritious food options.
Thomas said that getting her where she is now needed a team effort.
Her counselor, Vanessa Rozzelle, helped her sign up for a college discovery program that gives academic and personal counseling to high school students who want to go to college.
Thomas thanked Professor Lesley Rennis for her academic success. Thousands of people will witness Thomas proudly accept her associate’s degree during BMCC’s commencement event this week at the Barclays Center.
Despite being older than the typical student, Thomas is just beginning his college career. To achieve her ultimate aim of giving her community access to improved healthcare and nutritious food options, as ambitious and motivated as Thomas is, it is believed that her ambition and dedication will push her to the next level in her study for a bachelor’s in public health at Hunter College.
Well done, Lyn! This will show others that age is not an obstacle to achieving one’s goals. Be diligent in your task.
Please take a moment to congratulate Lyn and wish her luck with her studies in the future.
