For Erika Gilbert, returning to college wasn’t just a personal goal, it was a promise. A full-time healthcare leader at one of the nation’s top medical institutions, a graduate student pursuing her MBA, and a dedicated mother, Gilbert has spent her adult life balancing responsibility with ambition.
Her academic path didn’t unfold in a straight line, but rather through intentional pauses and powerful restarts with each decision rooted in family, faith, and the belief that it’s never too late to grow. After earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Mount Olive (UMO), Gilbert continued to graduate school, not for a title or a raise, but to lead by example.
Gilbert, who resides in Durham, NC, had tried returning to school several times after giving birth to her son in 1998. “I would start, then stop because life would get hard,” she recalled. “Trying to work full-time, be a single mother, and go to school was just too much.” Eventually, she made a deliberate choice to focus on raising her son. “I wanted to be an involved parent and always be present for him.”…