Mother and Daughter Co-Workers Both Attend Amarillo College

Taco VillaHeidi Combs is not the first mother to urge a teenager to pursue higher education only to be met with: “You never went to college, mom, so why should I?”

Heidi is, however, one of those enviable walk-the-walk moms. Rather than beat a dead horse, she proved willing to hoist herself right back into the saddle; the single mother of three countered her son’s observation not with oratory but by enrolling at Amarillo College herself.

She will be entering her second year as a full-time social work major when fall classes commence on Aug. 22 at AC. Her 16-year-old son, the youngest of her brood, has been duly impressed and of late has begun introducing topics into conversations at home related to careers requiring a certificate or degree.

That is obviously significant. But there’s more to Heidi’s story.

Her decision to attend AC was made with some apprehension, a fairly common denominator among non-traditional college students long removed from an educational framework. Not only was she unwilling to step away from her job at Taco Villa on South Coulter Street, a near 50-hour weekly commitment, but she was a bit skeptical of her own academic capabilities. 

“I was scared after having been out of high school for 20 years,” Heidi said. “I thought maybe I couldn’t do it. I was even afraid of getting lost on campus.”

Fortunately for Heidi, she was able to turn for inspiration to a co-worker who already was well on her way through AC – a co-worker who just happened to be her eldest daughter, Alice Langford, who also works full time at Taco Villa.

Alice, 22, is a general studies major who has attended AC part time, on her days off from work, since graduating from Caprock High School. She expects to receive her associate degree next May.

“I told her to go for it, to take a chance,” Alice said. “Even if you don’t know what you want to study or do, you can figure that out later, and that’s what happened with my mom. I can tell she’s glad she did it.”

Heidi originally set out on a general-studies track but soon discovered her present pathway to social work; she has a fondness for people and a willingness to help, she said. 

“I’d watched the sacrifices Alice was making, how she always made it a point to go to her classes even though between work and school she never had a day off,” Heidi said. “And I noticed how much she seemed to be enjoying it. She said her classes are fun. So I took her advice: I went for it. I wanted to prove to myself and to my son that I could do it. 

“I found out fast that there was nothing to fear,” Heidi said. “I learned that the instructors were so friendly. I’ve made a few friends in my classes. I set my mind to the fact that I can do it, I’ve hung in there, and now I love it.”

Heidi sometimes has only time enough to change out of her work clothes before zipping off to class, but the flexibility of several online classes has helped her juggle life in the fast-food lane. Interestingly, those online experiences will come in handy this fall for Alice, who will be taking her very first online class.

Imagine a 40-something mother helping a 20-something daughter navigate technology in this day and age. It’s a world gone … non-traditional.

“I helped my mom a couple of times when she was first trying to figure out the computer for online classes,” Alice said, “but online classes are different and this semester she’s going to help me figure out mine since I’ve never had one.”

Heidi and Alice agree that the combination of working together and pursuing degrees together has had a positive impact on their relationship.

“It’s all brought us so much closer,” Heidi said. “It’s created a pretty good bond between us.”

June 24, 2016