'Absolutely amazing' TCC student's hard work pays off as she gets ready to graduate

As the saying goes during graduation season, the tassel was worth the hassle — especially for Tallahassee Community College’s graduating student Makaira Skeete.

Skeete, a 19-year-old Quincy, Florida native majoring in interdisciplinary medical science, has been a busy bee from the moment she started attending TCC.

She takes a 30-minute drive from Quincy to the college’s campus in the morning for class, attends Student Government Association meetings as the organization’s secretary, heads home for an hour to do some homework and goes to CVS for work afterward — usually until closing time at 10 p.m.

Then, she goes back home to get some more homework done before the next day, where she wakes up to do it all again.

“Balancing school, work and having my own personal life is sometimes really overwhelming,” Skeete told the Tallahassee Democrat. “Having to take six classes within one semester — with some of them being STEM-related — while also going to work for seven or eight hours a day and then having to go home to do homework and write papers is a lot to handle.”

But after a hectic two years, Skeete’s hard work will soon pay off as she will be receiving her associate in arts degree in interdisciplinary medical science during TCC’s commencement ceremony Thursday.

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In the free time that she does have, Skeete loves hanging out with her friends at TCC’s Student Union building, doing nails — as she currently holds a nail technician license that she earned while being a junior in high school — and reading.

Prior to her enrollment into the college in fall 2021, Skeete attended Gadsden County High School.

Her eye has been on TCC after learning about its 2021 status as a top 10 college in the nation by the Aspen Institute and the opportunity it would provide her to transfer to Florida State University afterward.

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“Although I'm really sad to leave TCC since I made a lot of connections with the people here, I'm also really excited to go to FSU to see what the future holds for me,” Skeete said.

Skeete is also a member of TCC’s Honors Program and a member of Sister to Sister — a student organization on campus that establishes a sisterhood to increase minority success and retention through mentorship — on top of her role as secretary of TCC’s Student Government Association since fall 2022, where she helps to prepare upcoming meetings and campus events.

“When I first started, I didn't think I would have as much of a connection to TCC as I have now, so leaving soon is like a bittersweet moment for me.”

She says that Summer Scholars Program coordinator Brielle Crooms played a significant part in making her experience at TCC a memorable one as she encouraged Skeete to run for the SGA secretary position.

"Mikaira has been an absolutely amazing student to work with, and more people need to have a chance to meet her, engage with her and work with her," Crooms said. "She is always willing to put herself in position to help others as much as she possibly can, and she has a very shining-light personality that's going to take her very far."

Skeete plans on continuing her education at Florida State University in the fall and is thinking of majoring in English.

She is unsure of whether she will be pursuing a career as a physician assistant or a teacher, but her ultimate hope is to be able to help others.

“From a very young age, I’ve always felt that my goal in life is to help other people and influence them to do the same as well,” Skeete said. “No matter what career I end up choosing, I just want to be able to help others learn and grow while setting a good example for them.”

Skreete will be walking across the stage Thursday at 7 p.m. as TCC holds its graduation ceremony at the Tucker Civic Center.

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TCC graduation: Highlighting hard work of student Makaira Skeete