Kyla Skinner made time to study whenever and wherever she could. As a mom of three and a physical therapist assistant student at AACC, that often meant reading and reviewing notes in her car or at one of her children’s sports practices at Annapolis High School.
“They have benches and that's where I would study every single night under the light. ... And then my daughter had practice for a couple hours and that's how I got it done.”
Skinner is a military spouse, caring for her children while supporting her husband’s career. But as he neared retirement, she decided it was time to do something for herself. She enrolled at AACC, juggling classes and clinical rotations with a busy family schedule.
That effort will pay off when she delivers the valedictorian speech at the 2025 commencement ceremony.
“Being (a) military spouse ... I was the person that was home while my husband was gone ... so (the children) were used to me being there. ... And so, it was hard to tell them, ‘No, I can't do that. Mom has class, Mom has to study.’ But I think that seeing me accomplish this, I mean even if I wasn't valedictorian, just graduating and them seeing me accomplish something new and ... seeing intangibly like, hey, mom was working towards this, and this is what all of that was for.”
One of the highlights of her program was a clinical rotation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The rotation gave her a chance to practice her new skills on a population that is familiar and dear to her.
“Everyone there is active-duty military, so that challenged me because they were very motivated to get back to their prior level of function, whatever that was,” she said. “If they had a goal of being able to do their fitness test and complete their fitness test or things like that. So that kept me on my toes.”
Despite a 4.0 GPA, Skinner was hesitant to apply to be a valedictorian. But her family and friends encouraged her. Although she admits being nervous about delivering the address, she hopes her story will inspire others.
“I'm glad that I can share my story and hopefully be motivating for someone else that's following the same path I am or deciding whether or not they want to go back to school and pursue something new.”
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