This story first appeared in the University Advancement Fall 2025 Donor Impact Report, whose theme is “Thank you for believing in me.”
When Nancy Vickery-Taylor ’26 graduates from Worcester State with a bachelor’s in elementary education, it will be a full-circle moment. For one, her granddaughter will graduate from college the same week. And, Vickery-Taylor will be fulfilling her own grandmother’s legacy.
Vickery-Taylor is a longtime paraeducator, or teacher’s aide, who is studying to become an elementary school teacher. She is doing this through Worcester State’s Paraprofessional Educator to Bachelor’s Program, a partnership with the Worcester Public Schools—and with the help of a donor-supported stipend. By providing a path to teacher licensure, the Paraprofessional Educator to Bachelor’s Program helps school staff like Vickery-Taylor advance professionally while easing the state’s ongoing teacher shortage.
“It was a natural next step for me,” said Vickery-Taylor, who has spent nearly 30 years as a paraeducator in Worcester, primarily in a kindergarten classroom at Flagg Street School.
Vickery-Taylor has always loved to learn. In fact, learning is a family tradition. “We have really strong women in our family, and every single one of us has gone on to further our own education,” Vickery-Taylor said. The first of these was Vickery-Taylor’s grandmother, who had to drop out of high school during the Great Depression but went on to put herself through college. Her example has inspired and motivated Vickery-Taylor over the past six years, as she’s spent evenings, weekends, and summer breaks working toward her degree, taking classes across the education department, as well as in history, psychology, and more.
Vickery-Taylor is enrolled in her final two courses this fall. She completed her history minor this summer and took her state teacher licensure exams. Spring semester, she’ll begin her student teaching.
“I’m almost there,” she said. “I’ve made some amazing friends and had some very interesting experiences along the way. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge that will help my future students. I’ve also gained confidence.”
Ultimately, Vickery-Taylor hopes to teach first or second grade. She said she’s drawn to that age group for the way students blossom as readers over the course of a school year. “I want to support them and see them grow,” she said. “It’s such a good feeling when you’ve reached somebody.”
Vickery-Taylor said she’s appreciated the skill and empathy with which Worcester State faculty approach reading education. One of her professors, for example, brought in his personal collection of children’s books and invited Vickery-Taylor and her classmates to take them for their own future classrooms.
As Vickery-Taylor knows well, books are costly—whether to build a classroom library or to earn a college degree. While her professor helped Vickery-Taylor stock her future classroom, the grant money she’s received has helped purchase textbooks for her Worcester State classes. Each time she is able to buy another book, Vickery-Taylor thinks of her grandmother.
“She was 96 when she passed, and that’s when we learned she’d never graduated from high school,” Vickery-Taylor said. “The reason she didn’t graduate was because she had to pay for her own books. She was one of 11 children, and they didn’t have the money.”
Now Vickery-Taylor is earning a degree that will enable her to help children advance as readers. More than anyone, her grandmother would understand the value of that.
Donor Support: Paraprofessional Stipend Program
This academic grant was funded by a 1996 Worcester State alum who was herself a nontraditional student. She understands from personal experience the balancing act required of learners who have work and family obligations. She wanted to ease that burden and provide a hand up.
“Nancy and I share many experiences,” the donor said. “Our two oldest children attended Flagg Street School. And, our oldest daughter graduated from high school the same year I graduated from Worcester State College. It seems serendipitous that Nancy benefitted from our donation. I’m pleased that the flexibility of educators and schedules at Worcester State allows students to begin or continue their education.”
The grant provides as much as $1,700 per year to assist adult learners who are obtaining a bachelor’s in education from Worcester State. Its purpose is to support the cost of attendance and the cost of the Massachusetts teacher licensure exam. The funding has helped Vickery-Taylor pay for textbooks, labs, printer ink, and summer courses.
“This summer, I was very lucky that the grant money came in right after I had slapped down my credit card. It paid for my entire course this summer,” Vickery-Taylor said. “It’s helpful and humbling to have someone say, ‘I know you’re working hard, and I want to help.’ Every one of us who received this grant is appreciative. We’re at Worcester State to better ourselves and to become more financially stable, to create a better future. It’s really, really helpful to get this support.”
Top Photo: Nancy Vickery-Taylor, photo by Nancy Sheehan