Don’t say it, show it: A West Michigan mom preaching college education enrolls with daughters

By Max Goldwasser

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    GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (WXMI) — Most colleges and universities will try to market themselves as places where you will feel like a part of a family.

Well, for three students at Grand Rapids Community College, that is already the case — because they are family.

Cassandra Tiensivu never went to college when she was younger. Now, she walks the same halls as her two daughters, Juliana (18) and Sabrina (21).

“I got divorced in early 2010s, and I realized early on, after taking the advice of my divorce lawyer, that I should stay home and just collect child support because I would apparently earn more there than I would from working a regular job,” Cassandra said. “That did nothing for my resume and my ability to reenter the workforce. So, I kept stressing to my girls, ‘College is super, super important. It really is. So is a career.’ I came to the realization that, there’s no reason that they should believe what it is I’m trying to tell them because I don’t have a college degree. So, that was when I decided it was time for me to enroll.”

Cassandra enrolled at GRCC in 2016.

“I felt like the luckiest person in the world when I got my acceptance letter,” she said.

Cassandra is on track to complete her General Studies Associates Degree in the spring of 2024. She also hopes to pursue a Pre-Arts, Pre-Business and Pre-Geology Associates Degrees.

Sabrina, who’s in her second year at GRCC, has interests in environmental science and forestry management, while also picking up a minor in business.

Meantime, Juliana, a freshman at GRCC, is working toward a Math, Science and Engineering Degree, hoping to eventually transfer to GVSU to enter the school’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program.

“Starting is the hardest part,” said Juliana, speaking about what she hopes others can take away from her family’s story. “Just getting that stepping stone into what you want to do — it’s kind of daunting. Actually starting and, making sure, like, ‘Oh, this is the right thing for me,’ is a good way to just be able to get through everything that you need to do.”

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