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keep on doing everything that they can do. Do not give up. Turn in all your work on time. Get your assignments in. Make sure you studying cuz once you study and you do the work, then you don't have nothing to worry about. Hello Blue Jays, and welcome to the nest, stories about life after Manor College. I'm your host, Kelly Peiffer, vice president of marketing communications, and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at

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Manor College, you belong here always. This is a special edition of the Nest coming out to you the day before our class of 2026 commencement. Congratulations, graduates. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a Blue Jay Spotlight graduation edition. Aiden Tiblier graduates from Manor College tomorrow with his bachelor's degree in psychology. He came to Manor College from New Orleans, Louisiana. Before coming here, he never lived in the Northeast, never had a cheese steak, and only heard the rumors about Philly

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sports fans. Before he crosses the stage tomorrow, we asked him a few questions about his time at Manor College. >> I kind of took a gamble on Manor. I was coming off a really big knee injury and I was kind of told like they weren't my doctors were like they weren't sure if I was ever going to be playing at a high level again. I was on a recruiting platform that I forgot about and JD sent me an email. uh we had a talk on FaceTime telling me about the program and honestly most of the questions we

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started talking about was more like about me as a person and that that really like made me want to come here. um because he was making more of an investment into me as a person than just as an athlete. And I think you know without without ever looking at Manor, ever visiting or being in the like the only place I had been in the Northeast was New York for a couple of days and uh I drove up here and I moved in the residence hall all by myself. So Manor community here like that held up for sure. Like at first glance like you

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might think that a lot of people here are like really shy or like you know very quiet but like once you warm up to the community a day doesn't go by that I don't talk to people like I don't just end up having like random fun conversations or interesting conversations and 90% of the people here are locals and so for me as somebody that you know me and like the other guys that aren't from around here or even from the northeast in general like it's it's cool to see how different it is and

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to have people take you off campus or like telling you about what's going on in the city or what's going on in these guys' neighborhood and they show you and that's that's that's really cool. Uh I think one thing people should know about Manor is that this is the safest place to fail. like like if you're going to be unsuccessful at something and be successful at something later down the line, like I think this is the place that's going to, you know, kind of gear you up for it. on the field and off the

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field. I've never been the fastest guy here on my soccer team and I've never been the greatest student in the classroom, but I I work a lot harder than everybody, you know. So, I mean, it kind of drove me past all those failures, you know, from a failed class or a loss or, you know, not making a position to work harder. Work harder. Keep working at it no matter how many times like it didn't work out. I'm going to outwork it. I'm going to outwork the loss. So, that's that's definitely the biggest lesson I

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got. >> Today's episode is sponsored by the class of 2026 gift. You voted and the class of 2026 gift campaign blanket sale is there. These are beautiful large minky soft blue jay spirit blankets that we're selling for $30 per blanket. Premium quality large size 50x60 size. Proudly made in the USA. All proceeds go to the class of 2026 gift. Don't miss out on this limited edition keepsake. Grab yours in Manny's Market or by visiting manor.edu/2026gift. Get yours today. Joining us today

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is a woman who perfectly defines the word unstoppable. She is a Philadelphia native, a proud graduate of Northeast High, and a history maker within her own family as a first generation college student. But her journey didn't stop at just getting to campus. She actually conquered it twice. She is a two-time alumni of Manor College, having earned her associates degree in 2022. and now she'll be graduating next Thursday with her bachelor's in healthcare management for the class of 2026. Her leadership

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and academic excellence led her to be selected as the 2026 student commencement speaker. Beyond the classroom, she balances a professional life, currently serving as a patient access representative at Jefferson Health and as secretary three for the school district of Philadelphia. Perhaps most impressively, she has achieved all of this while raising six children, proving that with enough grit and the right community, no goal is out of reach. Please welcome the incredible Wandell Scott. Hi, Well.

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>> Hi. >> Thank you for being with us today. >> Yes. >> So, start us off, Wandell. How did you hear about Manor College and what made you ultimately decide to attend? Well, the first time that I heard about Manor is through my daughter, um, Jakira Williams. She is a college graduate from Manor. She graduated, um, a couple years before I started. Um, and she was had the choice of two schools, which was Cabrini and Manor. Um, she liked it both of them, but then she wound up

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wanting to choose to go to Manor. And I'm told her, you know, go where your heart leads you. And Manor has been very good to her, treated her very good. And I told her once I completed with my high school diploma, which I did, that I wanted to go to college. And because Manor was good to her, I wind up enrolling in Manor. And that's how I became um one of Manor's students. >> Oh wow. I love that. You know, we hear oftentimes stories of like parents telling their kids where to go to

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college, but we don't often hear the reverse, the kids telling the parents, "Mom, go to Manor." >> Yeah. >> Thank you for that endorsement. That's wonderful to hear and I'm so glad that was her experience and that has been your experience as well. >> But, uh, Wandell, you are what I call a double a double blue jay. So, you're going to have two degrees from Manor. >> Yes. What what about um our community really made you want to come back to

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Manor to get your bachelor's after finishing that associates? >> Well, what made me want to come back to Manor and to stay with Manor is because um Manor felt like home to me. Um this the staff was very supportive. My professor, every professor that I had was very beautiful to me. Um, Mary Sims is one of them. Oh, I love her so much. She has been there with me throughout everything. Even um through some of my semesters when she wasn't my professor, I was still able to call her and speak

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with her. Also, Dr. Crosby um she's another one um that was there for me and we talk, you know, on a daily basis even outside of um Manor and things like that. So Manor just made me felt more welcoming, homelike, um, very supportive, very passionate of everything. Even when I had to go out and have my spine surgery, every professor that I had was very supportive of me. They called me, they emailed me, they checked on me, and it didn't stop there. Um, I got myself back to health where I was able to start back on my

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work. And all I hear is you is strong. Cuz anybody that had surgery the way you did wouldn't have never been able to turn in work and had my work in on time and everything, but the staff here at Manor really made me feel welcome. >> That's awesome. So, it sounds like you had some like faculty champions who were in your corner regardless if you had them that semester or not. And then um obviously that also helps you stay accountable. You know, you know you have people that believe in you. That

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helps you stay motivated like these people believe in me so that I believe in myself and I can do this. Um but let's kind of take it back a minute here. So Wandell, you are an adult student. you are not a traditional college age student and your your path of education has not been traditional in a sense and I think um that's that's something you've talked about in other stories and around the college. Can you kind of take us through like why you know why go to college at this point in

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your life when you you have jobs and careers and you have things established, you have a family. Um, it sounds like a hassle and really inconvenient for someone in that situation, but like why did you choose to pursue higher education later on in your life? >> Because um when I became pregnant in 1992, um it just like I felt like it just hindered me from going on pursuing with my education. I was high risk. Um I was sick a lot. I was taken out of school. So it was like and then once I had my

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son in 93, I never went back. Um and then later on I just was working um I wind up becoming a CNA um through the department of public health and once I became a CNA, I just always worked. So it wasn't in my mind to at that time to go back to get my diploma. Um, as time went on and my kids start I started having kids and they started, you know, growing up and I seeing them going to school. When my first son graduated, I was proud. I was a proud mother cheering him on. Then my second son, then my

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daughter, then my baby boy, and then I was like, you know what? I had four kids that graduated. It's time for me to go back. And I always told my grandma when she before when she left this world that grandma, I'm going to go back and get my high school diploma. And she said, "Baby, that's all I want you to do." >> Oh. >> And it was always in my mind to go to college, but I don't know. It was like I was afraid. So once I got that diploma, it went on from there. I wound up

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enrolling in Manor and from there it was on. >> Wow. That's awesome. So, like your kids were really the ones kind of like they're doing it. >> It's mom's turn, you know, fueling you. >> Yes. >> Have they been every time you've gotten a diploma or a degree and now um at graduation you're going to obviously be be getting another degree, are they are they there cheering you on? Are they loud and proud? >> Yes, my kids are front and center. Um when it was time when I wanted to give

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up at first when I first started um Manor, it was like, "Oh my goodness, am I going to be able to do this?" But I did it and then with the help of my oldest daughter and my son-in-law, they was right there because they both are Manor's alumni and they graduated from Manor. So they knew a lot of the professors. So when it came time of certain things that I didn't understand, they sat with me, they read with me, they helped me, they guided me. So I was I was good from there. Once I got a hang

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of it, I I went on and said, "I got this." And I was just, you know, I didn't care how long nights I was up reading and studying, trying to get my work done. I did it. I did not give up. Even though when I wanted to, I just kept on pushing. I said, I'm not only doing this for me, I'm doing this for my kids. >> Oh, that's that's beautiful. It's so it's so uh touching and something that >> children can understand, parents can understand. I mean, that that connection

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so strong. I just thank you so much for sharing that. So obviously you must be um a person who's really good at time management or like this wouldn't work. What are how do you manage your like 24 hours when you got >> two jobs I believe and you're a mom and you're in school? Like how do you manage that? Do you have any like tricks that you're like this really works well for me? And kind of what does that look like for you? Like a typical day in Wandell's life? Well, because I work

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two jobs. Um, when I'm at the daytime job and I had to do work, um, on my downtime at the first job, I would just, you know, I'm already on a computer. So, um, I would log in and I would start studying, doing my work and stuff. Um, then from that job, I go straight to the second job and I do the same thing. Um, there I work in an ER, so it was like a if, you know, iffy at that time. Um, sometimes I can be able to say, "Okay, it's chill. I can do it." And sometimes it was like, "Uh, nope, can't. Got to

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wait till I get home." Um, because, you know, with working in the ER, it get very busy and sometimes it get overwhelming. >> And managing with the kids is I have older ones, so they always help me out and very supportive. My two youngest is 17 and 12. Um, so, um, I wasn't even seeing my kids. I don't even get to see them like that because I leave from one job, go to the next, and by the time I get home, they in the bed. Um, the weekends I'm off, so that's when I spend

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a lot of times with my kids and turning in work assignments and things like that. >> Yeah. So, like every every hour you're like, I got to get stuff done, whether it's for work, for school, >> and obviously having older kids certainly helps, but you know, you're still the older kids need mom, too. you know, they they need mom as well. So, I'm sure I'm sure weekends are really precious for you in that for family time and just trying to >> and also a little bit of like hopefully

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self-care and a little bit of like your own rest if if and when that happens. >> Yes. >> Um, so you're earning a BBA in healthcare management. >> Yes. >> What are you hoping to do with that or how are you hoping that that degree is going to translate maybe into one of your current roles at Thomas Jefferson? >> Yes. Well, I'm hoping that um I will be able to start working and at least um a management position at Jefferson. Um, I have started applying and I started

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applying outside of Jefferson um with um some of the positions um in manage in a management role and um I had interviewed for a couple of them but you know a lot of them are saying they want me to have my bachelor's degree. So they you know they know I'm graduating so they told me once I have it in hand to contact get back with them and things like that. And also I also was um accepted to La Salle College because I'm going for my um MBA um you know I'm in a program so I will be still working and still going to

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school at the same time. So I didn't just want to stop there. Um I wanted to keep going until I get um a higher degree that I know that I can work anywhere that I want to work. >> Wow. you you are like super superwoman. I don't of course you're going for a masters. Of course it doesn't stop there, you know. >> Yes. >> Just that's awesome. What do you feel like some of the foundational things that Manor prepared you for to then go get a master's? Like what are some of

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the lessons you feel like you're going to take with you um as you go for an MBA? like my businesses um lectures that I had, the apprenticeship, um the internship, um the occupational health safety um classes that I had um it was a lot of classes that I had, the capstone um that I had to do. um you know so a lot of my classes that I'm going that I have that I'm going to take with me and remember a lot of the work that I did through those classes I'm going to also um fit that into what I'm going to going

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for at um in La Salle and there is um their business administration but it's a MBA. >> Yeah. Yeah. That that's great. That's a great degree to have that's really versatile that can really go in in many different ways and I feel like if you want to work in management that's certainly you can't go wrong with an MBA. That that's awesome. I'm so happy to hear that for you. Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> So >> So this episode's coming out the day

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before our commencement. So it's coming out um right before the commencement. This is our special commencement episode. What is I know you're going to be our commencement speaker tomorrow for our we have two student speakers you and another student named Merritt. What's something that you're really hoping that without giving away any too many, you know, surprises, what's something though that like you want the class of 2026 to really take away from your remarks? >> Never give up on your dream. Do not

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stop. Keep on going. Don't let nothing hold you back from doing what you really want to do. and you're never too young, you're never too old to not go back and, you know, um, chase your dreams. >> That's wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Wendell. And then last kind of last question for you here. What's, um, some advice that you have for Manor students who are not quite at graduation yet, but they're hoping to get there one day. Some advice that you would give them?

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>> I would want them to know is keep on doing, keep on doing everything that they can do. Do not give up. Turn in all your work on time. Get your assignments in. Make sure you studying because once you study and you do the work, then you don't have nothing to worry about. And that way you can have your free time and everything. But always stay focused. Always um read everything. Read every assignment. This way you can get your grades in. Um, just keep the communication really well with your

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professors. Keep the communication with your classmates. You know, you have classmates you could talk to. If you can't get in touch with your professors at time, you know, just keep doing what you supposed to do. Don't never give up. Don't let nothing discourage you from doing anything that you want to do and go out there and be all you can be. >> Well, well said, Wandell. Well said. It's been such a joy to get to know you and hear your story. I had the pleasure of having you in my one of my classes

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this semester and you know in the class. It's an apprenticeship class so students really just work and then they reflect on the work that they're doing for the class. And obviously Wandell is has no shortage of work experience. So getting to read your journals weekly, I felt like I got a sense of like who you are and the kind of person you are. And the words that come to my mind just thinking about all of your journals, like you are caring, you are thoughtful, you are thorough. Um I feel like you

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know details about patients, about students, about whoever you're serving. You are on those details. And um I can't I can't thank you enough for sharing those with me. and it's been really an honor to get to know you and best of luck with everything you got going on. We're always cheering for you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on Instagram,

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Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest, stories about life after Manor College. Remember, Blue Jays, you belong here always. And a special congratulations to the class of 2026.