Becca Tonn said she chose to finish her college degree because she was “intellectually starving.”
“I was in the restaurant business, which could be a ton of fun, but that was not how I had ever envisioned my life,” she said, reflecting on her days as a single mom with two kids, ages 11 and 12 years old. “And I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just do this until the kids graduate from high school and then I’ll go back to school.’”
Becca said one day she woke up and realized she didn’t want to wait that long.
“I was terrified. I didn’t even think I had any intellect left,” she said. “I was really doubting my intelligence.”
Nevertheless, in her mid-30s, she decided to sign up for a sociology class at UCCS.
“That was all I could afford,” Becca said. “But that was me just dipping my toe in.
She finished with an A.
“I loved it,” she said. “And, once I started that class then I knew I really wanted to go back to school full time.”
With some help from the financial aid office, Becca discovered the Karen Possehl Women’s Endowment (KPWE) Scholarship Program which provides financial assistance and mentor support for post traditional UCCS students who are starting or returning to college after having overcome significant personal adversity. She also received funds from the local chapter of Executive Women International.
“The next four years were a crazy whirlwind because I’d be up till 1 a.m. studying after the kids went to bed because I didn’t want to shortchange my time with them. Then I’d be up at 5 a.m., take them to school, take myself to school, drive downtown to go to work, and on some evenings, I would come back to campus go to school,” she said. “It was intense, but I loved every single minute that I was getting to use my brain again.”
In addition to providing tuition assistance, KPWE matches scholars with community mentors who offer encouragement and professional contacts. The program provides career-focused workshops giving students the chance to learn more outside the classroom.
Becca said having a mentor made all the difference for her.
“It was physically exhausting and there were so many times I just thought, ‘I’m going to die. I literally just can’t go on anymore.’ And then I would think of calling somebody up from the scholarship to say I was dropping out and my heart would sink,” she said.
Becca said the idea of letting the KPWE community down was one of the many things that kept her going.
“Part of the beauty of the scholarship is, yes, you’re assigned a mentor, but it’s not just that. It’s the entire cohort of women who are involved. They’re all rooting for you. I knew they believed in me,” she said.
Her journey through higher education at UCCS also impacted her children in ways she couldn’t have imagined. Not only did they see her studying and realize how important it was to her, they also occasionally came to campus with her on weeknights.
“They would go to the library and do their schoolwork and that made them feel very grown up and special,” she said. “At one point, my son, when he was a little bit older, came to a poetry writing class with me and the instructor gave him an assignment and that started him writing.”
Her son now has a bachelor’s in English from UCCS and went on to get a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from CU Boulder. Her daughter now teaches history and science part-time at a charter school in California.
“It was life changing not just for me, but for my children. And it will continue to have a positive impact on my six grandchildren, too,” she said.
Becca is also changing lives through her work and connections. She previously worked at the Fort Carson Moutaineer and as a reporter and editor for the Colorado Springs Business Journal. Later, she moved on to a role as director of public relations for a marketing agency guiding area CEOs through crisis communications. Becca served as a KPWE mentor from 2018-2021 and is now member of the scholarship program’s advisory board. She’s also chair of the Business Department Advisory Board of Pikes Peak State College.
This fall, Becca marked her seven-year anniversary as Communications and Public Relations Manager for the Pikes Peak Workforce Center. The job center serves El Paso and Teller Counties and helps job seekers make resumes, get training, and search for employment.
“Every day I know I’m helping somebody,” Becca said. “We stage all of these job fairs and hiring events to bring job seekers and businesses together.”
Her accomplishments didn’t come without significant personal challenges though, something she said she feels she has to share to help others in similar situations.
“The whole time I was going to school here, I was in a relationship, and I was being physically and psychologically abused,” Becca said. “And finally, one day I realized I have to let people know that I lived through it so the next time they see somebody like me with bruises, they’re not going to believe the, ‘I fell down the stairs story.’”
She said it took her 10 and a half years to end the relationship.
“I want other women to know that they need to get out. They need to ask for help. You deserve to be safe and it’s possible to get out,” she said. “The feeling of freedom is incredible.”
Becca said, for her, getting an education from UCCS was a major accomplishment in her path to empowerment.
“If it weren’t for UCCS and KPWE, I would not have had the career that I have. I wouldn’t have the job that I have now and the security and the stability and the happiness,” she said. “I’m thriving. I’m getting to use my brain; my creativity and it’s been incredible.”