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Katrecia Brandon Stephens is a wife, mother, content creator, and full-time professional who embodies perseverance and purpose. A Warner Robins, Georgia native, she is finally crossing the finish line and earning her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Fort Valley State University on December 6, 2025, a dream more than two decades in the making.

Stephens graduated from high school in 2002 and began college as a nursing major at a rival university. But at the beginning of her junior year, life shifted. After finding out she was pregnant, she returned home to Warner Robins, determined to keep pursuing nursing. When that path didn’t work out, she enrolled at FVSU in 2009 as a Criminal Justice major. However, motherhood, full-time work, and life itself caused her to pause her studies several times throughout her journey since becoming a mom.

Still, she never gave up completely. “I had convinced myself that getting this degree was no longer important,” Stephens admits. “I had made it this long and lived a pretty good life without it. But my children wouldn’t let me not finish what I started.”

Her children, Kennedy (FVSU Class of 2027), Reagan, and Karter, became her greatest motivation. Kennedy, who currently serves as the Second Attendant to Miss FVSU, inspired her mother to continue showing up even when it was hard. “As a nontraditional student juggling the roles of mom, wife, full-time employee, and student, it gets hard,” Stephens says. “But if I can do it, so can you. Even if it’s only one class at a time, progress is progress.”

Stephens credits her husband, Willie, a proud Fort Valley State University graduate, and their children for helping her reach this milestone. “On this last leg of my journey, I could not have made it to the finish line without my family. They stayed up late with me to finish assignments and kept me motivated when I wanted to quit.”