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Campus & Community

Purposeful Persistence, Perseverance and Integrity: A 20-Year Journey Toward a Degree

Wednesday, August 17, 2022, By Hope Alvarez
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alumniCollege of Professional Studies
College of Professional Studies alumni and student convocation speaker Victoria Baratta delivers remarks at the podium

Victoria Baratta 鈥�21 delivers her remarks at the Spring 2022 Convocation ceremony at the College of Professional Studies.

Victoria Baratta 鈥�21 gripped the edge of the podium. While the applause dwindled down, a smile peeked out of Baratta as she adjusted the microphone. Rays of sunlight spilled into Hendricks Chapel, casting a glow onto the crowd as they waited to listen to the College of Professional Studies Spring 2022 Convocation student speaker. While echoes of children murmuring to their parents adorned in graduation regalia floated to the ceiling, Baratta scanned the room filled with students like her鈥攕oon-to-be graduates who studied part-time while juggling the side quests of life.

Many spent their evenings in front of a computer and books after a fatiguing day of work. Or some were like Baratta, studying alongside their college-aged children, learning about each other鈥檚 goals. Despite their different lives, they all gathered for the same reason: to celebrate their educational achievements studying part-time through the .

Her Mother鈥檚 Mantra

鈥淲hen I was younger, education was always one of the most important tools to have in your toolbox,鈥� Baratta said, beginning her speech. 鈥淜nowledge is power, and that power is something no one can ever take away from you.鈥�

Baratta鈥檚 words held weight as she sunk into childhood memories.

鈥淎s a little Black girl, I was never seen. My mother moved us to a neighborhood where there were no other people of color,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he kids looked at me like I was an alien.鈥�

Kids would make cruel remarks to Baratta, using negative insults to make her feel small. Alienated from her classmates, Baratta felt invisible.

鈥淧urposeful persistence, perseverance and integrity鈥� was the mantra her mother spoke to her daily. She held tight to those words, using them as a shield to fight off the negativity. The mantra soon became a compass that navigated her journey where she learned to juggle multiple male-dominated careers all while raising a family and completing a psychology degree at 黑料不打烊.

Lessons Along The Way

Head-to-head with a former bodybuilder twice her size, Baratta reflected on how she had gotten to this place in her life.

As a teenager, Baratta鈥檚 plan was simple. She would graduate high school, join the Army and simultaneously attend the University of Maryland. With military tuition benefits, it was an affordable option and offered stability.

But instead, Baratta found herself at age 20 sparring with a man of pure muscle at the 黑料不打烊 Police Academy.

What was meant to be a hometown visit while Baratta was in the middle of college soon became a recruitment opportunity for her family friend who was deputy chief of the 黑料不打烊 Police Department. After scoring in the high 90s on the police assessment, Baratta was awarded a job offer, but she didn鈥檛 intend to take the job. Persistent, her friend and deputy chief offered a list of benefits, hoping something would ignite her interest.

鈥淗e said it will help pay for college. I heard that and I thought, ‘this is what I wanted all along,’鈥� Baratta said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I was in the military.鈥�

In 1985, Baratta became one of the first Black female police officers on 黑料不打烊’s police force.

After transferring to 黑料不打烊 and the Army Reserves, Baratta began what would be a 28-year career in street patrol and community relations.

Working diligently to prove she could keep up with the boys, Baratta faced discrimination from her peers and the community around her. One day, during field training, a colleague demanded she sit in the back of a police car.

鈥淭hey weren鈥檛 discriminating because they didn鈥檛 like women,鈥� Baratta said. 鈥淭hey felt like they were protecting us.鈥�

Lined with hard plastic seats and a thick protective wall that distinctly defined who was in charge, Baratta refused to sit in the backseat because she knew her place. It was up front, protecting the citizens of 黑料不打烊, some of whom also judged Baratta鈥檚 ability to protect and serve due to her petite stature.

鈥淚 went on a call once where the complainant answered the door and yelled that he called the police, not the campfire girls,鈥� Baratta said. 鈥淗e then called the police department and told them to never send me again. He wanted a 鈥榬eal鈥� police officer, a man.鈥�

But Baratta didn鈥檛 let the badgering stop her. Instead, she navigated these moments using the psychology lessons she learned during her University classes. At the time, every challenge Baratta encountered at work invariably coincided with her psychology classes. Much like a lighthouse beaming in the distance, the coincidences repeated and reminded her that she was headed exactly where she was meant to be. Both Baratta鈥檚 career and psychology classes came effortlessly to her, proving she was born to treat the emotional pain of those around her and guide them to an era of hope and positivity.

鈥淚 feel like I鈥檇 been using my degree before I even got it,鈥� Baratta said. 鈥淕rowing up, I wanted to be a doctor. The doctor was the helper. Once I found a couple of psychology classes, I was like 鈥楾his is it.鈥欌€�

Baratta wanted to be a helper, and for her, it was achievable with a psychology degree.

When Baratta wasn鈥檛 patrolling, she was mentoring and assisting families through anti-drug and anti-gang programs.

鈥淚 got to be a part of helping the kids go down a better path, but also helping the parents who were in that culture but didn鈥檛 have the resources to get out,鈥� Baratta said. 鈥淚 got to work on both sides of the coin, and it was very fulfilling. I felt like that psychology degree helped me to connect with people in a way that I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to.鈥�

Study Sessions at the Dinner Table

It was another evening in the Baratta household. The family sat at the dinner table while Baratta and her daughter studied side by side, each immersed in their 黑料不打烊 studies. Baratta鈥檚 husband pulled up a chair. Acting as Baratta鈥檚 tutor for the night, he cheered her on when she faced an obstacle.

After taking a step back as a police officer and working part-time at an Apple retail store, it was those moments that made Baratta realize why she was completing her degree. Having an established career, many might wonder why she would continue her studies, but for Baratta, college wasn鈥檛 just about getting a degree. Education offered a new perspective that acted as a guide to navigating the complex moments of life.

鈥淐hallenges inspire me,鈥� Baratta said. 鈥淲hen someone tells me I can鈥檛 do something, I am on fire to prove them wrong in the biggest way that I can.鈥�

As a part-time student, Baratta accepted there would be a lack of connection with her classmates.

鈥淚 felt like I was part of the school, but not technically part of the community,鈥� Baratta said.聽 鈥淭hen I got on the dean鈥檚 list for the first time.鈥�

In the College of Professional Studies, making the dean鈥檚 list wasn鈥檛 just an acknowledgment of excellent grade point averages, but instead provided an opportunity to celebrate students and their achievements.

Hesitant to attend an in-person ceremony honoring dean鈥檚 list students, Baratta bucked up, recalling the endless hours she had spent poring over flashcards and textbooks. The little victories deserved to be celebrated.

鈥淚 really felt like I was going to be this wallflower standing in the back of the room,鈥� Baratta said. 鈥淏ut it wasn鈥檛 like that at all. They welcomed me and made me really feel like I was part of the University.鈥�

Baratta finally felt seen.

It was the feeling she had been chasing since childhood and it was here in the form of mingling with her peers and academic mentors. Surrounded by students just like her, the feeling of invisibility washed away as she listened to the stories of other part-time students.

鈥淥ur motivation changes over the years, but our drive stays the same,鈥� Baratta said.

Inspiring a New Generation

鈥淧urposeful persistence, perseverance and integrity,鈥� Baratta recited back to the crowd at Convocation.

Her mother鈥檚 mantra continued to guide her through the last moments of her academic journey. From here, she would pass down these words of wisdom in a cadet program hosted by the 黑料不打烊 Police Department and mentor a new generation of changemakers.

Baratta surveyed the room one last time. She finally made it to the top after conquering an uphill battle, her mind a little bit wiser and skin a little bit thicker. It was time for her and the other graduates to close this chapter and begin a new one.

鈥淕oals we set are goals we get,鈥� Baratta said. 鈥淢ake a plan, set the goal, achieve the goal. This is the equation for success.鈥�

  • Author

Hope Alvarez

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