Feb. 28, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As a mom, Cassandra Tiensivu knows actions speak louder than words.
So instead of just telling her young daughters about the importance of a college degree, the Comstock Park mother showed them and enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College herself.
“I understand how hard it is for young people to follow the advice of someone who doesn’t put their money where their mouth is, so that’s when I decided to apply to GRCC and get myself a degree,” said Tiensivu, an honor roll student who’s pursuing a General Studies degree.
Her daughters, now 21 and 18 years old, literally followed in her footsteps: Sabrina is in her second year at GRCC studying Business Administration and Juliana is a freshman in the college’s Math, Science and Engineering Academic Pathway.
Tiensivu, now 43, married soon after high school and never attended college, instead working as a stay-at-home mom after her daughters were born. Several years after her divorce, she enrolled at GRCC in 2016.
“Part of the reason I went back to school was because I wanted to instill the importance of college and a career so they wouldn’t be in the same position that I found myself,” she said. “I felt like the luckiest person in the world when I got my acceptance letter from GRCC.”
When it was time for each daughter to start classes, Mom stepped up as their personal tour guide.
“I was so proud to show them where everything was on campus,” Cassandra Tiensivu said. “If I hadn’t been a student myself, I don’t think I’d be able to assist them with the transition as well as I have.”
Although she began at GRCC as a full-time student, Tiensivu’s class load flexes when her family needs more of her time.
“In 2018, Sabrina was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and I took a year off school to be there for her,” she said. “Thankfully, she beat the cancer and is doing great.”
Balancing classes, homework, household and “mom stuff” isn’t always easy.
This semester, Tiensivu took a break from classes to focus on Celestial Kittens, a new company she started featuring space-themed felines she designed. Her product line includes stickers and stuffed toys, with a children’s book and fashion accessories on the way.
“I would like to be self-sufficient with my own business and still be able to pursue other things,” she said.
After exploring several academic fields through the years, Tiensivu is just nine credits away from an associate degree in general studies. She hopes to soon attain GRCC degrees in Pre-Art and Pre-Business before heading to a university and becoming a paleontologist.
“I know it’s taken me a long time to get a degree but I’m going to get there eventually … I’m not giving up,” Tiensivu said.
For now, she enjoys the time with her daughters, carpooling to GRCC with her youngest, eating lunch on campus at Quiet Cafe, and watching all three of their career aspirations come to life.
And her daughters are still watching and learning.
“I think it's awesome that Mom is going back to school,” Sabrina Tiensivu said. “When I see Mom study, all I can think of is how hardworking and dedicated she is.”
This story was reported by Beth McKenna.