Gia McCampbell

Student

“I sat in bed and thought about the futures of myself and my unborn child. And I became very aware that something was missing.”

“Oh yes, I was the captain of SMC’s cheerleaders,” recalls Gia McCampbell with an uproarious laugh. “But that was between 1985 and ‘87. I left and started working full-time as a marketing assistant for an engineering company, which was good money. But then I got pregnant,” recalls Gia, “and the whole picture changed.” Alerted to the fact that she was in a high-risk pregnancy group, Gia took stock of her life and decided it was time—again—for SMC, and a slightly different kind of “cheerleading.”

“I’m a returning student now, and it feels wonderful to be back at SMC. It has always been my goal to complete my education, and my beautiful son has just made this all the more important. I love it here and – since I returned—I’ve got a 3.2 GPA. That’s with the baby! And I’m going to be the first in my family to have a degree.” Gia reports that, “my wonderful fiance is totally supportive and motivating about my studies.” But she also says that the SMC campus itself is flourising with the kind of support that she needs.

“I had a lot of reservations about starting again. But there’s so much emotional help for mothers at SMC that I just jumped in wholeheartedly. I’m part of the CARE Program, New Horizons, and EOP&S. All of them work for me, and I’m successful because of them. There’s a hugely supportive environment at SMC,” she continues. “And if I can do it, anybody can do it.” That’s Gia: always “RAH! RAH! RAH! GO SMC!”

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