Loretta Young

“After listening to a One-Day radio commercial during my morning commute to work, I made up my mind that I was going back to college. In 2006, I enrolled in the One-Day-A-Week Saturday College, which was great! Bay Path offered a legal studies program that not only offered a high quality education but more importantly, is approved by the American Bar Association.

Just two weeks before I completed my Certificate in Advanced Paralegal Studies, I landed a new career with the Hartford-based law firm O’Connell, Flaherty & Attmore. On the first day of my new job, I walked through the marble lobby of the Prudential Financial Building in a skirt suit, and I experienced a great sense of accomplishment. My years of hard work had accumulated to form this intensely proud moment. I’m finally working in a field I enjoy, and the satisfaction is amazing.

I never felt as if I was on my own in the One-Day program. I was among an inspirational group of women, and I always sought ways to be involved in the College community. As a member the Mentor Connection, I work with new One-Day students as they transition into the accelerated program. I also connected with Bay Path’s traditional undergraduates by taking a vacation from work to participate in Alternative Spring Break. For an entire week, I volunteered alongside Bay Path students at community organizations in the Greater Springfield area. The experience built upon our strengths, enabling us to succeed in our goals.

The Saturday program is the most challenging task I have ever done, but succeeding in it has yielded benefits that I never expected. Bay Path has made me more marketable as a professional, emotionally stronger, and more confident. I’ve realized that I can accomplish dauntingly distant goals by choosing to seize every opportunity.”

- Loretta, who serves as the president of the Bay Path’s Mentor Connection and writes a recurring column in the One-Day College Newsletter, is currently applying to law school.