![\"Master](\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/12\/Master-Degree-TSU-Flag-lauren-1010189559-1-397x600.jpg\")
Francois, a native of Jupiter, Fla., will be awarded her master\u2019s degree in education with a concentration in curriculum and instruction on Friday. She will also share that time of her life and what it took for her to get through it when she gives the student commencement address at the 3 p.m. exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is really hard when you lose your mom that young,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was hard, and it happened so fast. There was nothing to prepare me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt changed the trajectory of my life. I quit my job and tried to continue attending school, but I could not stay the course right then. My mom was one of my biggest advocates. She wanted me to get my education and better myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After getting her bachelor\u2019s degree in marketing at the University of South Florida, she and her mother moved to Texas to find work. Marketing jobs were hard to find, so Francois took a position in advising and counseling at Tarrant County College (TCC) in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWorking at TCC made me realize how the college was impacting the community, and I was just in awe,\u201d she said. \u201cI was in an MBA program and immediately switched to an M.Ed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through a friend, she discovered Tarleton State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs soon as I walked on campus, I was like, \u2018Oh, I need to be here,\u2019\u201d Francois said. \u201cThe class sizes were small and everybody was so nice. Purple was everywhere. I felt like royalty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She applied, was accepted and thrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was named Outstanding Graduate in the College of Education, became a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the honor society for education, and joined the Golden Key International Honor Society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With her diploma (and a doctorate in her future), she plans to enter educational leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have worked in education for nine going on 10 years,\u201d she said. \u201cMy goal is to become a principal or other position that impacts not only students but the staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat I have learned as an educator is if we care about the community as a whole, we can build something great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Francois wants graduates and others in the audience Friday to know that life\u2019s obstacles can be overcome with faith and perseverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI eventually got my bearings, and I think I returned better,\u201d she said. \u201cWe all have struggles and I did not do it by myself. One thing that helped me get through the hard times was my belief in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrying to get an education during times like that can be tough. It is hard to push yourself. I want them to see that if I did it, they can do it, too. I am not saying it will be easy, but you may return better than when you started.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Tiekeyla \u201cLucy\u201d Francois understands the value of perseverance. She lost her mother when she was in her 20s and was thrust into a different life than she …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":52471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":425,"footnotes":""},"categories":[425],"tags":[437,456],"class_list":["post-52469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-college-of-education","tag-stephenville"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"priddle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/priddle-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/12\/Unknown-300x200.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Campus & Community<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Campus & Community<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["College of Education<\/a>","Stephenville<\/a>"],"unlinked":["College of Education<\/span>","Stephenville<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 year ago","modified":"Updated 1 year ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on December 11, 2024","modified":"Updated on December 16, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on December 11, 2024 8:00 am","modified":"Updated on December 16, 2024 8:10 am"},"featured_img_caption":"Graduate holding a Tarleton State University pennant, wearing cap and gown.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52469"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52555,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52469\/revisions\/52555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}