A single mom is set to graduate with two degrees in the coming weeks after giving birth to twins in the middle of her studies.
Montoya Major, 23, will graduate from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on August 16 with a bachelor’s degree in cardiovascular sonography and a master’s in health science.
Although the feat of two degrees is already astounding, the moment is made more incredible because Major accomplished her education goals with one-year-old twin daughters by her side.
Incredible accomplishment: Montoya Major, 23, will graduate from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree
Adorable: The accomplishment was tough for Major, who gave birth to twin daughters (pictured) in May 2018
Pushing through: She persisted through the master’s program and is now celebrating her two degrees with her one-year-old daughters
Major shared her accomplishments on Facebook and confessed she almost gave up after she discovered she was pregnant just five months after staring at Nova Southeastern in 2017.
‘I ALMOST GAVE UP! The Devil really had me,’ the mom-of-two wrote. ‘NOTHING could have prepared me for the journey that I’ve been through…Our program started off with 26 people and I am now 1 of 17 that will be graduating.’
Difficult decision: The mom-of-two confessed to thinking about dropping out after giving birth
The post went on to detail the stress Major went through when discovering she was pregnant at the beginning of her graduate program.
At the time, her program director suggested she take time off and return the following year to complete the degree. But Major thought it would be ‘nearly impossible’ to finish with two infants by her side.
‘I went to class every single day literally until the day I gave birth,’ she detailed, adding: ‘I was determined to finish.’
Her twins were born via C-section in May 2018.
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 recommends for new mothers to get 12 weeks leave following giving birth. But those recommendations don’t always apply to full-time students like Major.
‘Only after a week of giving birth via C-section I was back in class because I was told it was “unacceptable that I missed a week of school,”‘ she said.
Major went on to explain the difficulties of being a single mom taking care of two children while attempting to accomplish her education dreams, even revealing there were times she had high anxiety and worried about failing classes.
Never giving up: ‘I went to class every single day literally until the day I gave birth,’ Major said in a Facebook post about her education journey. ‘I was determined to finish.’
Busy mom: Major gave birth to her twin daughters in May 2018 and returned soon after to class because she was not allowed to miss
Heartwarming: Major’s Facebook post detailing her journey with her twin daughters was shared widely on the social media site. People praised the mom for accomplishing her goals
‘My grades dropped DRASTICALLY and my anxiety went through the roof,’ she wrote. ‘I was so afraid of failing and losing everything and most importantly my kids. I honestly thought dropping out would be the best choice for me, but I knew I couldn’t let my kids down and I was only giving the devil what he wanted.
‘I knew I would not only disappoint myself but everyone who was rooting for me.’
One challenging aspect of the journey for Major was that she had no friends or family in Fort Lauderdale to help her while she focused on her children and her education.
But the single mom was able to push through to earn her degrees.
‘WE made it! I persisted, I finished. I have achieved not one but TWO degrees with the help of my beautiful daughters for if it was not for them I have would have never pushed myself to finish,’ she wrote towards the end of her post.
Major persisted largely on her own in Florida when pursuing her education, but she also credited her widowed father and friends from afar for being supportive in the last two years.
‘Throughout this entire journey my father encouraged me the most although he was not physically there. My father and I are very close and have always been inseparable after my mother passed when I was young,’ Major told Fox News. ‘Whenever I had an episode of wanting to quit school he always encouraged me that it would be worth it in the end.’
She intends to move back to Mobile, Alabama — where the single mom is originally from — after her graduation to be closer to family while she raises her two daughters and hunts for a job.