It’s never too late to chase your dreams, but when a Bronx, NY grandmother decided to pursue her own and go get her masters degree, life took an unthinkable turn. After a two-year-long set back, she’s back on track to open her own business providing much needed help to New York’s homeless population.
Life for Karen Wallace hasn’t always been an easy one. Two years ago, she started John Jay College in hopes of obtaining her masters in public administration, but then she was hit with a tragic diagnosis. She shared her story with ABC 7 of how shortly after deciding to go back to school, she was diagnosed with cancer.
“I had already got diagnosed with the breast cancer in November,” the social worker told ABC 7's Nina Pineda. Despite her condition, Wallace finished the first two weeks of classes. “I just went on and started, because it started. I’m home, I’m online, it was easy,” she continued.
But in January, her education was put on pause after she was hit with yet another cancer diagnosis. “When we did the PET scan in January, and it came up with the Non-Hodgkin lymphoma,” she revealed. “I just didn’t know what to do.”
The grad student soon decided to withdraw from school, notably doing so within the school’s designated withdrawal time frame. Over the next year, Wallace took her health seriously, and her cancer was in remission when yet another bomb dropped— this time in the form of a bill.
The school had charged Wallace for more than $5,000 despite her never being able to finish a class. And after going back and worth with the college over the matter, her bill went into collection. “It was going to go on my credit report, what am I going to do?” she asked. “It made me want to cry, I was literally sick.”
But, that’s when ABC 7 jumped in and pulled some impressive strings. “7 On Your Side contacted John Jay College on a Friday, and before classes started on Monday, Wallace got some great news,” journalist Pineda said.
After months of trying to resolve the matter, her outstanding bill was settled, getting rid of Wallace’s stress from school and her ongoing health conditions. “We hope that Ms. Wallace can now focus on restoring her health and we’re grateful for her patience and grace as we worked to resolve the issue,” a spokesperson for John Jay said in response.
Now, the social worker has plans to return to school and start her own an assisted living facility, according to ABC 7. She just celebrated being two years cancer free.