Heide Hellreigel

      I was solely responsible for rearing my daughters. I had clerical jobs, but knew I could do better for my daughters and myself. I started going to school at night, after work, taking ten years to earn my associate’s degree. A year later, I went back to school full-time. I didn’t realize at the time how much of an impact that decision would have on the rest of my life and my children’s lives. Education changed my life; it saved me and my children. Before I went back to school, I was suicidal because I felt trapped. I knew I could contribute more to society, but I needed a degree to do so.
      My daughters, then 9 and 16, were very supportive of me going to school full-time. The only income I had was from student aid. Pell grants covered my tuition and part of the cost of books. Subsidized student loans, which I am repaying, covered my basic living expenses, including medical and dental costs for the three of us. I applied for other forms of grant aid and was denied because I had income the year before I went to school. That’s when I found out that financial aid makes a major assumption that disenfranchises non-traditional students. Aid formulas consider any income earned by “the student” the previous year as money that should be “saved” for their college expenses. My income went to pay the rent and feed my girls: I could not save. We made it in large part because we moved in with my parents and I did not have to pay for rent and utilities, for which I am very thankful. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have parents as a resource.
      When I came back to school, I instantly felt like I belonged. I was not the only one trying to raise children, secure a passable income, and go to school. Had you asked me about theatre before I started school, I would have asked you what it was. Now, it is an integral part of my life. The courses I took leading to my degree were varied; philosophy, English, psychology are an every-day part of my life today. I was able to learn from my professors that there is much more to learning than memorizing facts. Scholarships allowed me to participate in short-term study-abroad programs where I walked on the pyramids in Mexico City, visited the Potala Palace in Tibet, and saw Les Miserables on Broadway. I did not know this world even existed before I went to school. It was an honor and privilege when I was selected to represent my University of Houston graduating class at commencement and give a speech. I was chosen from a pool of over eight hundred students because of my 3.9/4.0 grade point average, and my involvement in the university theater and other activities.
      Now I am an accountant with a future. I think the most beneficial thing my education has done for me is to enable me to believe in myself. This in turn affected my daughters and their attitudes about themselves and what they can do in life. Both daughters are currently pursuing degrees in higher education. Both of my daughters are confident, intelligent, independent women. Making myself a better person for my daughters makes us all better citizens.

Photo Exhibit

A nationally touring exhibit of 50 framed, museum quality, color photographs coupled with narratives created by students who are welfare eligible, single parents changing their lives through the pathway of higher education.  The installation presents a unique view of poverty from insiders’ perspectives and reframes the cultural (de)valuations of poor single parents vis-à-vis family, work and higher education in the United States today. View the Gallery Guide.