She Had Every Reason to Stop. She Kept Going. 

Nastazia Tisby had a full life, three children, a job in the emergency department, and plenty of reasons to put college off. 

She kept going. 

Tisby recently graduated from Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) with an Associate in Arts, becoming the first person on both sides of her family to earn a college degree. She was also the first to graduate from high school. 

“I’m very proud, and I’m surprised I really did it,” Tisby said. “I have a full life. I’m very busy, and I had every reason to quit. But I didn’t. I kept going.” 

Her path to graduation started years earlier. After graduating from high school in 2010, Tisby went straight to college while pregnant with her daughter. The distance from home made it hard to continue, so she stopped. Later, she completed CNA training through EICC and worked in the field for several years before burning out. 

This time, she returned to the Clinton campus with a different reason to finish. 

Her oldest son just graduated from high school and plans to attend the University of Dubuque for aviation. As she thought about what she wanted for him, Tisby realized she needed to hold herself to the same standard. 

“I expect him to graduate college, so I thought I would make an example. What I expect from him, I need to do myself,” she said.  

Tisby took classes on campus and online while working and raising her children, ages 18, 15, and 9. Even when her schedule shifted, the Clinton campus remained part of her routine. 

The support mattered. Tisby said EICC gave her a comfortable place to keep moving forward, especially when life was busy and the work felt hard. 

“I’m thankful that people here at the school supported me,” she said.  

“It was a breath of fresh air to be around people who pour into so many people like myself. If I wasn’t comfortable here, I probably wouldn’t have stayed,” Tisby added.  

Graduation also proved something to herself. Tisby said she has stopped things before when she became bored or overwhelmed. This time, she wanted to show herself she could finish, even when it was difficult. 

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could keep going, regardless of how hard it was,” she said. 

Now, Tisby is looking ahead to a career as a patent attorney. She plans to continue at a university, then attend law school. Her goal is to help people understand and protect the ideas they create. 

“A lot of people create intellectual property, and it is taken away from them. They are never compensated because they do not have the resources or the knowledge. I would like to spread that information and let them know that what they create has value,” she said.  

For Tisby, earning her Associate in Arts was more than a milestone. It is proof she could keep going, proof her children could see, and proof that the future she wants is still within reach. 

“I’m thankful that I did it,” Tisby said. “I’m thankful for the opportunities and I’m so happy that I graduated.”