Why Chantel Hutchison Traveled Coast to Coast to Celebrate Her SNHU Degree

Chantel Hutchison ’25 traveled from coast to coast to walk at her commencement ceremony. Hutchison and her family came to Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) from California to celebrate her success in graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Public Health.

“It feels amazing to be here. I'm so glad I came,” she said. “I'm so glad my husband is here, my mother is here, my granddaughter and my sister — who I call my forever best friend — is here to celebrate this occasion.”

Finishing What She Started

While in high school, Hutchison was an honors student and a scholar-athlete. When she graduated, she chose to be a mother rather than continuing her education. Decades later, she decided it was time to focus on school again.

“I decided when I went back to school that I wanted to finish what I had set out to do,” said Hutchison. “So even though it was 30-some-odd years later, (SNHU) gave me the opportunity to finish getting my college degree.”

Beyond her own goal completion, Hutchinson spoke to how this time at Commencement could affect others in her family, too.

“I think it's just a great experience for my granddaughter to see what you get after you put in the hard work,” she said.

Challenges, Commitment and Growth

While Hutchison enjoyed her time at SNHU, she said to succeed she had to overcome many challenges. With perseverance and help from the tools provided by SNHU, she came out on the other side with new knowledge and skills.

“My experience has been wonderful,” she said. “It's been hard, but it's been worth it. It wasn't easy. But I also feel like I was given every tool by SNHU to be successful.”

Throughout life, learning had come easy to Hutchison. Within many classes on the path to her degree, that was still true, but there were moments when her skills were put to the test. Statistics was one course that gave her an especially difficult time, she said. Her commitment to completing her degree saw her through.

“The most beneficial course for me was statistics. And because it was the hardest course for me, I had to really focus and power through," she said. "I’m someone who tends to pick up things naturally, (but) I had to really apply myself. I had to really just hunker down and do the work and just learn the curriculum.”

Advice for Future Students

Hutchison said that hard work and truly applying herself paid off. She credited SNHU and its staff for supporting her through her time earning her degree.

“If you're talking about going back to school and SNHU is in the running, I say, go to SNHU. It's been amazing. The advisors are awesome,” she said. “And it's just a wonderful school. They just make it so easy for you to enroll and to get to your end game, and are able to give you that feedback that you need and that reassurance that it can be done and that you will get to the end.”

Tessé Allen-Albino is a content marketing assistant at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) where she is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in computer science. Based in Ohio, she is a proud mother of two, and enjoys coaching soccer and playing video games in her free time. Connect with her on LinkedIn.