Amelia DeGuzman graduated from MCCC as an Honors Program student and received a full scholarship to one of the highest ranked liberal arts colleges in the nation, Smith College, where she started this spring, but there was plenty of reason to think this could never happen.
“It’s kind of a crazy story,” DeGuzman says.
At the age of 10, DeGuzman and her family were displaced from their home, pushing them into homelessness and then public housing.
School provided some sense of stability.
“I loved learning, and I discovered that people thought this made me a good person. But I was also discovering that people thought things like addiction and poverty made you a bad person,” DeGuzman says. Poetry and literature were things that kept her going.
She was ranked second in her high school class, but she dropped out at 17. While still working to get back on track, at the age of 19 DeGuzman’s mother suffered a sudden heart attack and died.
“I was able to stay in the public housing system, so I had a place to live,” she says, “but other than that I was at the lowest point in my life. So it was from there that I started building up. I spent almost ten years working really hard and investing in my wellness.”
After taking time off to regroup and heal, DeGuzman decided to go back to college and hoped to study as a dialectical behavioral therapy practitioner and therapist as DBT was something she had found helpful during her journey.
Once back in college, DeGuzman found that her artistic passions for poetry and literature had been stirred up again.
In pursuit of her passion for poetry and literature DeGuzman met several professors at MCCC who she says were key to her success.
Nicole Homer, a Professor of English, had DeGuzman in her Creative Writing class, Introduction to Literature class, and African-American literature class.
Prof. Homer says, “Amelia was a passionate creative writing student and that included going above and beyond what was asked in class.”
Professor Homer is also the co-advisor for Soul, a creative writing club at MCCC, where DeGuzman was inspired to create a literary magazine called Your Stories.
“I had this idea and then [Professor Homer] has professional publishing experience.” DeGuzman says, “And so I met with her every single week.”
The project took shape and came to fruition.
“She was genuinely excited about literature and poetry,” Prof. Homer says.
DeGuzman also contributed a performance of one of her poems, “After the Burning of the 3rd Precinct” to The VOICE’s online edition and won a New Jersey Press Foundation first place award for Best Online Video.
Another professor who had a direct influence on her success, Deguzman says, is Diane Rizzo, who she had for American Political Systems.
“I think [Amelia’s] enthusiasm for learning was so infectious that everyone she encountered in the class gained something from her presence there.”
Professor Diane Rizzo
Prof. Rizzo says, “Amelia has this real ability to adapt to her circumstances and has a joy of learning that was not confounded by any obstacles. That’s the first thing I remember about Amelia.” She adds, “I think her enthusiasm for learning was so infectious that everyone she encountered in the class gained something from her presence there.”
One of DeGuzman’s greatest achievements while at MCCC was winning first place in the Beacon Conference, an annual scholastic competition where two-year college students write about the topics of their choice and present on them to panelists and other students.
DeGuzman wrote a paper titled “Illusion Is Time Travel” where she explores Terrance Hayes’ book of poetry, American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin.
“It felt like a conversation with people who were as equally passionate about the nerdy, poetry stuff that I am passionate about,” DeGuzman says.
Professor Rizzo was DeGuzman’s mentor for the Beacon Conference and then helped her with her college application process which, like everything else in her life, didn’t go quite as expected.
“I did apply to some schools in the fall and didn’t get into any of them,” DeGuzman says. But she reached out to Prof. Rizzo and tried again.
“She’s motivated, she’s intelligent, she’s hardworking, she’s creative, she’s collaborative. I’m really glad that Smith recognized those qualities in her,” Prof. Rizzo said.
DeGuzman was accepted as part of the Ada Comstock Program at Smith that offers scholarships and support to nontraditional aged students who have displayed notable leadership.
Student Micaela Lyons, an Engineering Science major, who met DeGuzman in Professor Rizzo’s class says, “I know that she is going to do great things. She’s a doer. She’s always going to be one of those people who’s making something. That’s what I really respect and appreciate about her.”
DeGuzman says, “I’m thinking about my peers at Mercer who are so hard on themselves and just really striving for perfectionism…[You have to] redefine your notion of success according to your own values.”
Prof. Homer says, “She was excellent at helping establish and maintain communities inside the classroom and in our extra-curricular activities.”
When asked what she is excited about at Smith, DeGuzman says, “There is a real sense of care and sisterhood that is just part of Smith culture, and that same kind of camaraderie and encouragement is also part of why I did so well at Mercer.”
