Dawson College graduate perseveres through grief to earn hard-won diploma
After seven years in her program, Tameka Charron walked across the stage and won her college's perseverance award.
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Tameka Charron graduated from Dawson College last week, and the moment felt surreal. She'd been in the Community, Recreation and Leadership Training program since 2019—a three-year program that took her seven years to complete. The delay wasn't laziness. Her mother, Rhonda Adams, died from breast cancer in May 2020, leaving Charron grieving and searching for stability in the middle of her studies.
Charron credits the CRLT community for getting her through. "They're not just there academically for you; they literally supported me in every way possible," she said. "Financially, if I needed help, like a food basket, it's a safe spot to go to talk."
When she finally walked across the stage to receive her diploma, Charron also won the CRLT Perseverance Award. She says she pushed forward not just for herself, but for her son, Chase, and to honor her mother's example. "She was a single mom, and she never stopped learning. She never stopped growing," Charron said. Looking ahead, she hopes to work in dance, singing, and community support for people navigating grief, anxiety, depression, and single parenthood.
"Step by step. It took me seven years to finish the program, but it's a three-year program. So it doesn't matter how long it takes you," she said. "You just keep going."
