Student Spotlight: Linda Fegan, persevering

Linda Fegan, California State University, Stanislaus, 2011 HEARST CSU TRUSTEE awardee is an exceptional student. Despite boundaries, she has proved everything is possible with determination and persistence. Since a young age, Linda dreamed of perusing her goals and ambitions; however, due the lack of her parents support, she was not able to fulfill her academic dreams when the time came. Even though she was not able to attend college to become an obstetrical engineer, she decided to raise a family and do missionary work over the world where she could care for and help others.

"Since my youth, in the 60's, it has been a dream of mine to go to college and graduate with honors in my then selected field, obstetrical medicine," Fegan said. "With very little parental support or backing, life has a way of being sidetracked. And so it went with mine."

Much of Fegan's life has been dedicated to the ministry which has resulted in assignments in various parts of the United States. These included the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota and a foreign assignment was in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She is fluent, not only to speak, but also to educate others in the Spanish language. Over the years, she has maintained management and public relations positions in various industries and even started two businesses of her own.

In 1998 Linda's dream of attending to college seemed closer in reach. After completing her missionary work and owning two successful businesses, she was driven to resolute her goals. Nevertheless, once again, she was not able to do so due to personal and health issues. 

"After a successful semester, I became severely ill and suffered several strokes that required timely recuperation," Fegan said. "During this period of time, I also lost my oldest son in a tragic accident. These took quite a toll and left me with a permanent stress disability."

Regardless of her previous challenges, her dreams were higher than ever and in the fall of 2008, with the support of her family, she was finally able to attend CSU Stanislaus. 

"With the support and encouragement of my husband, I finally saw my opportunity and grabbed onto it," Fegan said. "I felt that there must be a way that I could use my past life's experiences to benefit others."

After completing her Bachelor's of the Arts in Spanish, Linda hopes to move onto the Master's program to work as a teacher. 

" I want to specialize in Spanish language interests with the goal of enabling others to surmount racial prejudice via communication and familiarization with different cultures," Fegan said. "Ideally, I would like to begin this journey at a local community college as an instructor. I love serving the community, and with my background, I feel that I have much to offer to others."

As Fegan's favorite Jurist would say, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." What lies within us can help us overcome anything and Linda Fegan has unmistakably displayed this throughout her life.