Finish What You Started - How One Student Came Back to Earn Her Degree

What happens when you decide it’s finally time to finish what you started? 

In this episode of UMBC Mic’d Up, Dennise sits down with Samantha Drummond, B.A. ’25, Individualized Study, who returned to UMBC after several years away to complete her degree through the Finish Line program. Samantha shares what it was like balancing full-time work, family responsibilities, and school—and how she stayed motivated through the challenges. From self-doubt to walking across the stage, her journey is a powerful reminder that it’s never too late to invest in yourself. 

If you’ve ever thought about going back to school, this conversation will meet you right where you are. 

👉 Learn more about the UMBC Finish Line program: https://finishline.umbc.edu/

Transcript

Dennise Cardona  00:00:00  
Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to this episode of UMBC MIc'd Up podcast. My name is Dennise Cardona, your host. I am here with Samantha Drummond. She just graduated in the fall of 2025 with her bachelor's degree, and we're going to be talking about UMBC Finish Line program and her experience with coming back to UMBC to finish her degree. Samantha, it's great to have you here on the podcast. Thanks so much for joining us today. Thank you. So let's just kind of get started with Can you tell us a little bit about when you first attended UMBC and what your college experience looked like at that time? Yes.

Samantha Drummond  00:00:41  
So I first started attending UMBC shortly after I graduated from high school, many years ago now, but I was taking classes full time at that point and commuting to campus. I was also working part time, but school was my number one focus.

Dennise Cardona  00:00:58  
That's awesome. At what point did you start thinking about coming back to finish your degree, and what prompted you to take that first step?

Samantha Drummond  00:01:09  
So I started thinking about returning to UMBC after I'd been out of school and working for about six or seven years. I actually got a letter in the mail from UMBC with information about the finish line program. So that's kind of what got me interested in coming back. So I called UMBC and actually spoke with some staff to get more information about the program.

Dennise Cardona  00:01:32  
That's amazing. What was it though that like when you're working you've been out there six or seven years, you probably had several credits under your name already. What was it that said? I really, I feel like I feel compelled to go back.

Samantha Drummond  00:01:50  
I really just felt like there was something that was kind of like unfinished, and that was my degree. So I really wanted to, yeah, go back to school and just give myself, you know, more opportunities to further my career and just kind of have, you know, more options. And I believe that my degree would let me, let me do that.

Dennise Cardona  00:02:14  
Yeah, absolutely, I certainly can understand that I was a later college student myself, like I started school at 25 years old, and so that was, you know, that was seven years after I graduated high school. So it's, it's a unique experience. I think when you go back after some time, you've got some time under time, and experience, professional experience under your wings, so to speak. And I feel like you at that point, you have so much more to offer in terms of just a different lens for those folks who come in, right out, right from high school. So I think it's a really cool experience having that sort of blended classroom experience. Yeah, for those who are listening, who aren't sure what the finish line program is pretty much what that means is UMBC Finish Line program has been designed to bring UMBC students back to campus for degree completion. So many students Samantha hesitate to return because of things like work and family and other responsibilities. What concerns did you have before you decided this is something I should do? I should come back?

Samantha Drummond  00:03:29  
Well, I had all of those same concerns as well. At the time, I was married with a two year old and working full time, so I really wasn't sure if I could handle school on top of all my other responsibilities, yeah.

Dennise Cardona  00:03:45  
What was your program, just for folks? What did you study when I started at UMBC? Yes. And then what did you end up doing?

Samantha Drummond  00:03:54  
So my original major was business, technology and administration, which is BTA, but then I ended up graduating with a degree in Individualized Studies on the Multidisciplinary Studies track.

Dennise Cardona  00:04:07  
What was it about your actual degree that you completed that appealed to you the most?

Samantha Drummond  00:04:13  
I would say, just the chance that I was given to be able to kind of design my own degree and not necessarily go with one of the majors that was already kind of laid out and chosen by the university. I wanted to be able to use the credits that I already had and then kind of add new classes as I, you know, became interested in new things.

Dennise Cardona  00:04:36  
Yeah, that sounds really like a great a great step forward. What would you tell your former self now about those worries and doubts that you originally had about returning?

Samantha Drummond  00:04:50  
I would tell myself to you know, just really find a way to make it work and just keep moving forward towards your goals. It's really easy to just. Give up, but don't do it.

Dennise Cardona  00:05:04  
That's right. Do not give up, right? What was it? I mean, I think I speak for many people, to keep that motivation in gear, like, were you working full time when you went, when you came back to school, or did you take a little break from working full time to do to complete your degree, and what, what created that motivation for you, what kept you going?

Samantha Drummond  00:05:26  
So I was working full time when I came back to school. So I was working full time, so I was only able to take classes, part time classes, but just just the motivation for me was just keeping my goal in mind, and just, I kept thinking, what is it going to feel like to finally walk across that stage, you know, after all this hard work, and just really wanted to be able to feel they're really just the the satisfaction of, you know, putting all this work into something and really coming out kind of on top and really just succeeding. So just keeping, keeping the goal in mind the whole time is really what helped motivate me.

Dennise Cardona  00:06:04  
Being in school can be just it can feel overwhelming if you have a lot of other responsibilities, and that motivating factor of visualizing, like you said, seeing yourself cross that threshold, and, you know, go up there and shake the President's hand, and be able to walk on that stage and feel great about your accomplishment. That's a great visual. I have to say, I had the same visual. So when I was in my undergrad, I was a working professional, and in trying to make ends meet, I was married, newly married. We're poor college students, and I was like, why am I doing this? Should I really be doing this? And what kept me going was seeing myself walking across that stage like and having my family and my husband there to cheer me on. That was a big motivator to me. And I think I would say visualizations are really important to keep your stride going, and once you do it right, what is that feeling?

Samantha Drummond  00:07:01  
Oh my gosh. It's hard to describe. I feel like, yeah, leading up to graduation, I didn't really sleep a whole lot, and I think the day of graduation, I didn't, yeah, go to sleep until maybe like 4am but just yeah, the feeling is just excitement, just just so many emotions at one time. It's just overall, yeah, just an amazing feeling. And just very, very exciting. And kind of like what you were saying, having a family there on graduation day, my daughter, who's now six years old, was able to attend my graduation and take graduation pictures with me. So yeah, it was just, it was great. It was very exciting, very overwhelming in a good way, but totally worth it.

Dennise Cardona  00:07:43  
So you came back as an adult student. What was that like for you? Coming back as an adult student, being around those folks who were just out of high school at that point,

Samantha Drummond  00:07:54  
it was really difficult, you know, balancing family, work and school obligations and, you know, like you said, having, you know, younger students kind of in my classes, and, you know, kind of comparing myself, you know, thinking, oh, you know, I'm not necessarily like the typical, you know, college student at this point in my life, but then just having to kind of step back from that and again, just remember, you know, why I was there, why I was in class. And, you know, it doesn't matter, you know, the age or, you know, any of the other things going on, it was just really the focus. I just had to really bring it back to again, you know, I'm here to graduate. I'm here to really just work hard and succeed. So it was difficult. It was but definitely something I knew I had to do,

Dennise Cardona  00:08:41  
yeah, yep. How did UMBC support you during the process of finishing your degree?

Samantha Drummond  00:08:49  
So again, yeah, the finish line program. I just really feel like I love telling people about it, just the fact that I was able to use credits that I previously completed and then also add in new classes, as I started, you know, gaining new interests, also just, you know, my professors and my supervisors, and just the resources available on the campus. So, you know, you're able to go to the library, and there's, you know, study areas and things like that. So I really feel like I had a lot of support from, you know, the university, as far as the programs offers, and then also the resources, again, on campus that were available.

Dennise Cardona  00:09:32  
Was there a moment during the program when you realized finishing my degree is absolutely the right decision?

Samantha Drummond  00:09:41  
Yes, yes. So I would say, probably within the last few semesters are when things really started to kind of come together. And I could really see that I was close to graduation. Up until that point. I know, you know, I still knew it was the right decision, but it was, it was still diff. Cold to see, kind of like the ending. But again, in the last few semesters, it really felt like all of my hard work was finally paying off. And I could really see myself walking across that stage, that that vision that I had been, you know, just thinking of over and over again during my whole, you know, college journey was really, really close. So that definitely made me think this is the right decision, absolutely, to come back and get my degree.

Dennise Cardona  00:10:28  
So you know, you walked across that stage, you earned your degree, you went through all of that. How has completing this journey and your degree impacted your career, your confidence and even future plans.

Samantha Drummond  00:10:43  
I definitely feel like it was a huge confidence boost. You know, during, I guess when I first came back, it was kind of, you know, new React, limiting myself with college courses, while also, you know, working and having other obligations. But once I finished, it was just Yeah, I felt like I could, you know, do anything. I really feel like I gained a lot of new skills that benefit me in my career now and also give me the tools to advance my career in the future. And I also feel like I have a lot more opportunities now as well, since completing my degree.

Dennise Cardona  00:11:21  
If someone who left UMBC years ago is watching this or listening to this and is thinking about returning, what would you say to encourage that person to take the next step?

Samantha Drummond  00:11:35  
I would say, first of all, yeah, just go for it. The first thing I think you just need to make the decision to go back. Definitely, it's important to invest in yourself and your education. It will definitely change your life. And then I also think that making a plan, or starting a plan will definitely help motivate you, so you kind of have, you know, step by step of how you can get to your goal of graduation. So definitely, yes, start making, first, make your decision to go back, and then start making a plan for how you're going to make it happen. Indeed.

Dennise Cardona  00:12:11  
Samantha, is there anything that I have not asked you, that you want to add to this conversation?

Samantha Drummond  00:12:19  
There's going to be a lot of doubt at first, but just yeah, don't give up again. I feel like that's for me, that's the common theme. You just have to keep pushing yourself, and you can really do anything, as long as you know you keep moving forward, no matter the obstacles that come up. Great.

Dennise Cardona  00:12:37  
Samantha, this has been a great conversation. Thank you so much for sharing your insights about your experience with UMBC Finish Line program, and sharing your experience with your educational journey as well. It's been really a great conversation. So thank you. Thank you so much for having me and thank you everyone for tuning into this episode. If you'd like to learn more about UMBC Finish Line program or any of our offerings, click the link in the description. Thank you so much.