Single mom from Mint Hill was ‘barely making it.’ Now she’s graduating from JCSU

Karen McGirt was barely making it as a young, single mom in Charlotte decades ago with three children.

Her part-time job was hardly earning enough to pay monthly expenses. More often than not, McGirt had to decide whether to pay the electric bill or provide food for her children. She also was a trade school student.

“I had to find a second wind with each new challenge to finish what I set out to accomplish,” she said.

More than 30 years after graduating from Harding University High School — much of it working as a bus driver or in a salon — the 48-year-old mom will cross the stage at Bojangles Coliseum Sunday and accept her bachelor’s degree in social work from Johnson C. Smith University.

“I was barely making it. Now, I have the credentials I need to give back to the community and assist others,” McGirt said. “I wanted better for my children and myself.”

With a degree in hand, McGirt has her eye on work with a social organization. She particularly wants to help people who were in the same spot she was: a young, single mom trying to work and go to school.

“My mom is unstoppable,” said son Imari Cunningham, 18. “I am extremely proud of her graduating. She has worked really hard. (She’s so) determined.”

Driving a bus to pay for school

McGirt told The Charlotte Observer she never considered traditional college after graduating high school in 1992. She was more interested in hair and makeup, so she took a job as a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver to pay her way through cosmetology schools.

She had two young girls at the time, and drove a bus in the mornings from 5:45 to 8:30. From 8:45 a.m., to 1 p.m., she attended cosmetology school. Then she was back on the bus by 1:15 p.m. She drove until 5:30 p.m., then picked up her girls from daycare.

McGirt graduated from cosmetology school and worked in several salons. It wasn’t enough. She enrolled in Central Piedmont Community College during the evening, but couldn’t stand being away from her children at night. So, she enrolled in an online program at with Liberty University and earned an associates degree in psychology in Christian counseling in 2018.

She got married in March 2018, and now has six children in her blended family. The children range in age from 14 to 30.

McGirt, who lives in Mint Hill, began a new chapter in fall 2019 when she enrolled in Johnson C. Smith. While her girls were in their 20s when she started at JCSU, her son was 13 and she and her husband were co-parenting whom she calls her “bonus children,” who were 9, 11 and 15.

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An ANSWER to confidence

McGirt worked during the day and took classes at night. She was a full-time student in JCSU’s Metropolitan College of Professional Studies program, which offers evening and online classes and provides flexible and convenient scheduling.

“I did the best I could,” she said. “It helped that my daughters were older. My mother assisted with children when needed with picking my son up and starting him on his homework.”

To make a four-year degree possible, McGirt also turned to ANSWER Scholarship, a Charlotte nonprofit that provides college scholarships, mentoring and professional development training for moms.

Susan Andersen started ANSWER Scholarship because when she graduated from high school, her parents had divorced and there was no money to send her to college.

“There are so many more challenges a non-traditional student faces compared to traditional college students,” Andersen said. “Our scholars must be enrolled in school full-time. Each mom is raising at least one and often more children from Pre-K to 12th grade. We’ve found that so much of the time, moms don’t have the confidence to go back to school.”

McGirt says working, taking classes and having a family took a toll, so she also relied on Andersen’s organization to provide support in other areas.

“They provided sisterhood with other like-minded women in pursuit of bettering themselves and being better for their families,” she said.

Addressing needs

McGirt has started her own nonprofits, too. One is a religious organization that supports individuals and families in their spiritual growth. A second is Shifted Atmosphere Ministries Resiliency Partners, which serves men and women who battle substance use disorders.

McGirt hopes to break barriers of unsuccessful recovery and provide a food pantry, clothing closet and offer resources for job skills training and counseling.

The organization also provides resources and links displaced teen moms to services such as daycare, job search, medical assistance and educational opportunities. There also will be a hotline available for teens.

“They are social issues that need to be addressed,” McGirt said. “I care about displaced teen moms because I was a young mom who was not knowledgeable about resources to assist me along the way. The hotline is important because this generation needs an outlet where they can feel heard and supported.”

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McGirt wants to work full-time in her nonprofit agency, as a counselor and advocate. She’s working on finishing up testing as a certified substance abuse and alcohol and drug counselor this month.

McGirt’s advice for moms who want to earn their degree: “Never give up on your dream, there is support out there. You will be pleasantly surprised at what you can accomplish, not to mention your children will be inspired by you.”