June 4, 2024

Ferris State grad Massiel Calderon savors bachelor’s degree 20 years in the making – and plans to continue her education

For 20 years, a determined Massiel Calderon never took her eyes off the prize – finishing her bachelor’s degree.

Now Calderon is motivated to continue her education, thanks to the doors Ferris State University has opened for her and the Calderon family.

Calderon was all smiles – as she frequently is – and swelled with pride as she shook hands with Ferris State President Bill Pink at commencement. Calderon, who earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the College of Arts, Sciences and Education, sees Pink as a role model and the opportunities that education can create for her.

“I’m just getting started right now. I plan to keep it up until everyone has to call me ‘Dr. Calderon,’” she said.

The Dominican Republic native said she was raised by strong women – her mom and grandmother – before and after moving to the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City and then the borough of Queens when she was in middle school.

An older and wiser Calderon is now setting her sights on a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and a Doctorate in Community College Leadership – all at Ferris State.

Calderon is a special projects assistant in the Ferris State Hispanic/Latino Cultural Center and a member of Gamma Phi Omega International Sorority Inc. She has benefited from a great family and friend support system on campus. This includes her husband, Rafael, now a junior in the Cybersecurity program. Calderon’s adopted daughter, Mia Calderon, is a Ferris State student and an HLCC office assistant.

The Calderon’s adopted Rafael’s brother, Spencer, to a family that includes their daughter, Arriana and son, Julian. When Rafael’s mom became ill with Mast Cell Leukemia, one attempt at pursuing higher education degrees paused. The couple then became foster parents to Rafael’s siblings, Spencer and Mia Calderon.

“One of the first times it feels like we graduated was when Spencer and Mia had their adoption ceremony,” Calderon said. “We all went together, and they got a teddy bear from the judge. That was like our first family achievement. From then on, we’ve just been achieving things together.”

Calderon said it took two years to become foster parents because of New York’s rigorous regulations.

“And then, in the middle of that, we had Arianna, now 13 years old. Then, we had Julian, who is now 11. Both go to Big Rapids Middle School. I went from being pregnant with one kid to having three kids in three months. That was an adjustment, but it was fine because I’m the oldest of seven. Because of that, it wasn’t that hard for me to adjust. And luckily, Arriana and Julian slept all night.”

Finishing what they started academically remained in Calderon’s plans, with the responsibility of raising a family and transitioning from an old home to a new one.

“My sister was already here in Michigan, and we came for a visit in what felt like the middle of nowhere … surrounded by Amish people,” she said. “We were like, ‘We want to be here.’”

Calderon earned an associate degree in Philosophy from Suffolk County Community College in Selden, N.Y. and just started at Stony Brook University in New York during COVID-19.

“We moved to Michigan right around when the pandemic was ending, and Stony Brook wouldn’t allow me to continue to be an online student,” she said. “We moved here for about a year. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my education.”

One day, while looking for somewhere to eat, the family found The Rock Café at Ferris State.

“I didn’t know this was Ferris State University,” she said. “I thought we were just going to a diverse place to eat where everyone could pick whatever they wanted to eat. Then, I realized we were on a university campus, only 20 minutes from where we were now living.”

The coincidence was an opportunity too good for the Calderon family to pass up.

“I was like, ‘I’m going to go here,’ she said. “So, in less than two months, I was registered for classes and had my schedule.”

But it got better for Calderon, who found a home in her new Ferris State home.

“Before I started attending classes, I interviewed with the Center and started working as the Promesa Scholar’s Program coordinator,” she said. “As I started working here, I got to know the Center first, and then more and more, I got to know more people in the Ferris community through that work. I got to know so many departments and began feeling part of this community more.”

The pieces started falling into place when the Center underwent a leadership change, and Sonia Trevino became its new director. 

“We just immediately clicked. We have the same mindset,” Calderon said.

The renamed Ferris State Hispanic/Latino Cultural Center felt like home in more ways than one.

“Mia graduated from high school and started going to school at Ferris,” Calderon said. “I go to Ferris, Ralphy goes to Ferris and Mia goes here.”

While Calderon is beginning her master’s degree pursuit, her husband is finishing his bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity.

“Arriana is 13, and she thinks she’s going to Ferris because we know so many people on campus, including many students,” Calderon said. “The students like what I like the most about Ferris – that they welcome a family. There are a lot of spaces that don’t really allow kids and the kids are a part of the family. They’re part of the Center. They are part of my experience. Everything I do here, everybody knows the Calderons, and we love meeting people.”

At commencement, Calderon crossed the stage with a big smile, with her parents, kids, and Spencer, her oldest son, waving a Dominican Republic flag in the stands. Her support system is one that she would never trade.

“I became a mom to more kids in part because I wanted to support him and his wishes with his mom,” said Calderon, who also credited her mom and her grandmother, who passed away at 92 years old, as major influences on her. “It has been great. Mia is like my best friend, and it’s giving me a better perspective as a mom, too, because I’m not like a traditional mom. We are all Calderons.

“Ralphie supports me in anything I want to do, and I support him,” she continued. “His education has been more delayed so I could do it. He’s been the predominant breadwinner, and now that I have graduated, Ferris will hire me to work full-time. Now, he’s studying full-time to finish his degree.”

Calderon said she intends to stay at Ferris.

“I’m going to stay at Ferris for the rest of my educational and professional journey,” she said. “I am a Bulldog for life. I really am. Bulldogs stay together.”