A Chance Encounter on a Montclair Shuttle Drove This Army Veteran Back to the Classroom

Frank Rivers’ journey as a student in the Bachelor of Liberal Studies program will come to an end at Commencement, nearly the same way it began three years ago.

An employee of Montclair State University’s Shuttle Services, Rivers was driving a student from their convocation ceremony on Sprague Field when they got to talking about going back to school as adults. The student was Alicia Tucker, who had just graduated with her bachelor’s in Economics and was set to start a role as graduate assistant for Montclair’s Degree Completion Program.

Rivers had an associate degree in Drug and Alcohol Counseling under his belt from Essex Community College in Newark, dating back two decades. Between working, raising a family and the loss of his oldest son, Frank Jr., while serving in Iraq, Rivers (himself an Army veteran) said he simply lost his place and never thought he would find his way back into the classroom.

Until that chance encounter with Tucker. At the time, the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies accelerated degree program from University College had launched just months prior in fall 2021, offering adult learners over the age of 25 the opportunity to return to college. The first cohort to complete the program walked across the stage at the May 2023 Commencement and to date, 75 students have graduated.

Never Too Late

Tucker says that Rivers, like many other students in the program, showed a desire to finish what they had started.

“I told him how I started my own degree at 38 years old, so I understood the challenges of wanting to finish a degree as an adult,” says Tucker, who went on to earn her master’s in Higher Education and is now Academic Advisor for the Degree Completion Program. The two connected over their shared experience serving in the military – Rivers in the Army and Tucker in the Air Force – and she made sure to stay in touch, sharing her successes so that he would be encouraged to start his own journey.

“I told him that I would never steer a brother in arms wrong.”

It was quite the pep talk, Rivers agrees. By that fall, he was enrolled.

‘I’m Not a Quitter’

With a military background, lessons from his counseling background and years of experience raising two sons as a single father (as young boys, they lost their mother to lupus) Rivers knew he had the self-discipline skills necessary to conquer his fears about re-learning study habits and juggling life with work and classes.

Rivers rolled from one completed course to the next, taking advantage of the flexible program’s fully online offerings and eight-week terms. When tragedy struck again and he lost various family members, including his mother, Rivers had a pep talk of his own at the ready to stay on track.

“I’m ex-military, I’m not a quitter. And this is not all for me, it’s for my family as well. It’s not just Frank, it’s the entire Rivers family,” says Rivers.

Reflecting on his chat with Tucker, Rivers marveled at how one friendly conversation on the road put him on a new life path. “It was a blessing to be led here,” says Rivers. “If I can come back, all of us have the opportunity one way or the other. You just have to have the strong will and desire to not stop and say ‘I can.’ Succeeding doesn’t mean you come out on top, you just have to move from where you are.”

When Rivers walks across the stage at Prudential Center on January 13, it will be a full circle moment that began on another celebratory day just a few years ago. And he plans to pay it forward; Rivers says he is looking into the Child Advocacy master’s program with the goal of helping those in need.

“I want to put myself in a position where I’m able to give back to the community and my family,” says Rivers. “It didn’t look like there’d be daylight for me, but where there’s a will there’s a way.”

Are you a…

Prospective Student or Parent? Learn more about the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies program or University College, plan a visit to our campus and take the first step in applying to become a Red Hawk.

Journalist? Contact the Media Relations team for assets or to schedule an interview with a graduating student.