Jennifer Mauer has needed more willpower than the typical college student to pursue her goal of earning a nursing degree. That willpower bore fruit when Jennifer graduated from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and became the first in her large family to earn a bachelor's degree.
詹妮弗·莫尔需要比普通大学生更多的意志力来追求她获得护理学位的目标。当詹妮弗从威斯康星大学欧克莱尔分校毕业，成为她大家庭中第一个获得学士学位的人时，这种意志力结出了果实。
Mauer, of Edgar, Wisconsin, grew up on a farm in a family of 10 children. Her dad worked at a job away from the farm, and her mother ran the farm with the kids. After high school, Jennifer attended a local technical college, working to pay her tuition, because there was no extra money set aside for a college education. After graduation, she worked to help her sisters and brothers pay for their schooling.
莫尔来自威斯康星州埃德加，在一个有10个孩子的农场长大。她的父亲在农场外工作，母亲和孩子们一起经营农场。高中毕业后，詹妮弗就读于当地的一所技术学院，努力挣学费，因为没有为大学教育留出额外的钱。毕业后，她努力帮助她的兄弟姐妹支付学费。
Jennifer now is married and has three children of her own. She decided to go back to college to advance her career and to be able to better support her family while doing something she loves: nursing. She chose the UW-Eau Claire program at Ministry Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield because she was able to pursue her four-year degree close to home. She could drive to class and be home in the evening to help with her kids. Jennifer received great support from her family as she worked to earn her degree: Her husband worked two jobs to cover the bills, and her 68-year-old mother helped take care of the children at times.
詹妮弗现在结婚了，有三个孩子。她决定重返大学，以推进自己的职业生涯，并能够在做自己喜欢的事情时更好地养家糊口：护理。她选择了Marshfield圣约瑟夫医院的UW Eau Claire项目，这样她能够在家附近攻读四年制学位。她可以开车去上课，晚上回家帮忙照顾孩子。詹妮弗在攻读学位的过程中得到了家人的大力支持：她的丈夫做两份工作来支付账单，她68岁的母亲有时会帮忙照顾孩子。
Through it all, she remained in good academic standing and graduated with honors. Jennifer sacrificed to achieve her goal, giving up many nights with her kids and missing important events to study. “Some nights my heart was breaking to have to pick between my kids and studying for exams or papers," she says. However, her children have learned an important lesson witnessing their mother earn her degree. Jennifer is a first-generation graduate and an inspiration to her family-and that's pretty powerful.
在整个过程中，她一直保持着良好的学术身份，并以优异的成绩毕业。詹妮弗为了实现自己的目标做出了牺牲，放弃了与孩子们共度的许多夜晚，错过了重要的活动用于学习。她说：“有些晚上，我的心都碎了，不得不在我的孩子和为考试或论文而学习之间做出选择。”然而，她的孩子们在目睹母亲获得学位时学到了深刻的认识。詹妮弗是第一代毕业生，也是家庭的灵感来源，这非常有力量。