Becky Morris was in middle school the first time a teacher talked about college. It felt like trying to decipher a language she'd never been taught.
No one at home had talked about higher education. No one was saving for it. Morris learned that day that scholarships could help pay for college. What she didn't learn was how to get there.
"In my little girl world, I was going to grow up and be a teacher, but I had no idea how to do that," Morris said.
She found her way to Germanna Community College in her 20s. It was the beginning of a journey that would ultimately lead to a master’s degree—and back to Germanna.
Today, more than three decades later, Morris serves as Germanna's Internship & Work-Study Counselor, helping students navigate college, work, and what's next.
Students like her.
Detours
In the years after high school, Morris become a manager at McDonald’s. She was a single mother. Her daughter was ill, spending weeks at a time in the hospital. She was fried.
A friend sat her down.
“You’re either going to be a good mom or a good McDonald’s manager. Not both,” he told her.
“I want to be a good mom,” she said.
The decision became clear. If she wanted a different future—for herself and her daughter—college had to be part of it.
He drove her to Germanna—the same place he’d gotten his start—and helped her get a packet of information for prospective students.
Morris enrolled in the business program and became a work-study student, a federal program that allows students to earn a paycheck while attending school. She received a scholarship from the Germanna Education Foundation and took out loans to cover the rest.
In 1996, she graduated with an associate degree in business, then took advantage of guaranteed admission to University of Mary Washington—then Mary Washington College—and earned a bachelor’s degree in business.
By then, Morris was married to the friend who’d helped her get her start. They’ll celebrate their 25th anniversary this August.
Her degree opened doors.
“I went out into the community and worked a bunch of very cool jobs—real estate, finance, banking,” she said.
Then in 2010, with the country deep into a recession, Morris lost her job.
“About that time, the coordinator in the financial aid office at Germanna was hiring someone to do work-study and outreach,” she said. “I applied, having zero experience in higher education, and got hired.”
Every day, Morris met with students and helped ensure they had the resources they needed to succeed. The more she got to know them, the more she realized her own story wasn't unusual. Many were the first in their families to attend college. Many relied on financial aid. Some were balancing school with work or raising children. Some wondered if they belonged at all.
"I learned how many students had stories like mine," Morris said. "I sat in their seat. I can literally say, 'I was work-study. I was a financial aid recipient. I get it.'"
One of the first students Morris worked with was part of Great Expectations, a state program that helps current and former foster youth access higher education. When the student graduated, she thanked the grandparents who had raised her on her graduation cap. Alongside their names was one more: Becky.
"That's why we do this," Morris said. "To get them to that graduation line."
Invested
Ten years into her career at Germanna, Morris stepped into a new role: Internship & Work-Study Counselor.
For a decade, she said, "I helped get students in the door. Now I help them get out of the door."
Today, Morris connects students with internships and work-study opportunities that help them build resumes, gain experience, and launch careers.
One student who participated in the IT work-study program landed a job at Microsoft after completing an internship. Another was selected for the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative.
"They are launched. They are doing their things," Morris said. "We want to retain our students through graduation. But our real goal is to get them to work."
That’s what changes lives. And communities.
"I want to live in a great place with great nurses and electricians and plumbers and teachers," she said. "I have a vested interest in helping the people who come through our doors be successful."
Morris knows there is no single path to success. And that success often isn’t linear.
When students begin to doubt themselves—balancing work, children, family responsibilities, and a full course load—she sometimes shares pieces of her own story.
"I think students sometimes think all of us in these desks and offices can't relate," she said. "A lot of what they go through is not the same. But back then it was a little rough, too, and we made it through. We're here to help."
When it came time for her own daughters to choose a college, Morris recommended the path that had changed her life.
She raised two daughters who went to Germanna. Her son-in-law also began his college journey here. All three went on to earn bachelor’s degrees or begin a career.
She made sure they knew what she didn’t.
Morris knows what can happen when someone is shown a path forward.
"All of the people that helped me—I get to be that person now."