Wife, Mother, Student, La Toya Hart

When La Toya Hart—a Sherman, Texas, native—decided she wanted to get her college degree, she knew there was only one place she wanted to attend: Texas Woman’s University.

A wife of 17 years and mother of two sons, La Toya had been an early childhood educator and once her youngest received a diagnosis of ADHD, they made the decision to have her stay home and homeschool him while running an in-home daycare.

La Toya has wanted to be able to say, “I graduated from TWU,” for a long time. Now excitedly anticipating her graduation in May with a bachelor’s degree, La Toya feels her achievement thus far is surreal, and is grateful for the knowledge and experiences TWU has provided her.

She is a nontraditional student in many ways, including studying online. She credits the TWU CARE (Campus Alliance for Resource Education) office and staff with enriching her experience and connecting her to the university, making her feel part of the community. She even had the opportunity to serve as the vice president of Epsilon Omega Epsilon, an organization for online students.

The TWU community also supports students with children that are seeking to better their lives through higher education to have a happier holiday. La Toya and her family are grateful that for the second year their sons have received Christmas presents through the CARE office’s Holiday Gift Program, since the holidays can be a difficult time financially. La Toya and her husband, Chris, want their sons to have a good perspective on Christmas, teaching them to be grateful for each gift, whether there’s just one under the tree or many. Their sons were amazed how there are people they don’t know that care about them.

La Toya tells her sons, “Mommy doesn’t just go to school for herself. She goes to school for you, too, and the school is helping us.” She wants her sons to know that it’s important to remember that as we are blessed, we can be a blessing to others.

She is thankful for the giving spirit of TWU and the helpful nature. She knows TWU isn’t just about giving students an education, but it’s also like a family. And she feels that even living away from campus.

“I hate to leave!” La Toya said, “But I have to say, being part of this institution is one of the greatest achievements that I have. I am thankful I was able to be a part of this school because it’s always been a dream of mine. It wasn’t a dream that turned into a nightmare. It was almost something unreal.”

While not all Texas women will make it into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame, where La Toya stands in the above photo in TWU’s Blagg Huey Library in Denton, the university strives nonetheless to educate with excellence all enrolled women and men. The goal is to empower them to boldly impact their families and communities for generations.

This holiday season, we boldly proclaim the value of the opportunity that is offered through a degree from Texas Woman’s University. Every TWU student and alumni embody what it means to BOLDY GO, facing each new day with confidence and a certainty that whatever their day will bring, they will face it as empowered individuals.

Support students and families at TWU with a donation to the Holiday Gift program.

Story by Adam Hengeveld; Photo by Chelsea Mullin