An Extraordinary Graduate and a Future Teacher

When Lindsey Maclin crossed the stage earlier this month at Wayne State University in Michigan, she might have appeared from a distance to have been much like her fellow graduates. But those in the know realized that Maclin’s diploma attainment represented an impressive feat: the recent graduate is only 19 and the mother of a 3-year-old. As of her graduation, she is also now a certified teacher.

In just three years, Maclin earned a bachelor’s degree in special education and graduated summa cum laude. In those same three years, she gave birth to a boy named Christian. With the help of her mother, also a special education teacher, Maclin juggled her full-time coursework load at Wayne State, dropping off and picking up Christian at daycare, caring for him in the morning and evening, and squeezing in her own homework at night. Her goal: finish school when Christian is three, allowing her two years to be there for him until he starts kindergarten. "It was kind of stressful, but my mom has been a total support as well as other co-workers and friends," says Maclin.

Maclin got pregnant when she was 16, but at the time she was already a high school senior, having skipped her junior year. Facing this new pressure, she opted not to drop out, as many in her position do. "I got good grades and had a few scholarships and I knew I didn't want that to go to waste," says Maclin, who was in the high school marching band and drama club president. "I also knew that the only way to provide the best I could for my son was to stick with it and finish school, then go on to college."

Summer won't bring any slowdown for Maclin, who says she's pursuing a career in teaching because of the influence of her own superlative kindergarten and sixth-grade teachers and her mother. She hopes to teach summer school and just today she had her first job interview. There's little doubt Maclin had any trouble answering questions about how she handles multi-tasking and unique challenges.