{"id":53021,"date":"2026-05-10T09:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T14:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=53021"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:25:11","slug":"after-cancer-caregiving-and-covid-acc-graduate-hazina-ngandu-crosses-the-finish-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/10\/after-cancer-caregiving-and-covid-acc-graduate-hazina-ngandu-crosses-the-finish-line\/","title":{"rendered":"After Cancer, Caregiving, and COVID, ACC Graduate Hazina Ngandu Crosses the Finish Line"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For Hazina Ngandu, earning a college degree became about much more than school. It became a promise to herself that no matter what life placed in front of her, she would keep going.<\/p>\n

This spring, at 54 years old, Hazina graduates from Austin Community College District (ACC) with an Associate in Applied Science in Business Administration. It is a milestone years in the making after navigating COVID-19, caregiving, and her own battle with breast cancer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cToday, I’m so proud to say I am 5 years cancer-free, and I feel great, thank God! It may have taken me longer than I expected, but I made it. I AM GRADUATING!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hazina first decided to return to school in 2019 after encouragement from her husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband encouraged me to get my associate degree so that I could get my first degree under my belt.\u201d<\/p>\n

She enrolled at ACC ready for a new chapter, even convincing a coworker to join her on the journey. But shortly after classes began, the pandemic changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I had to be on the right path when COVID hit. In my experience, whenever you are making a commitment to change or grow, something always happens to test your resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then another challenge arrived. In 2020, a close family member was diagnosed with breast cancer. Hazina immediately paused school and traveled to Richmond to help care for her relative through their surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I am so grateful that I was able to do it. And now she is cancer-free. She beat cancer!\u201d<\/p>\n

Before returning home, her family member asked Hazina to promise she would schedule a mammogram herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kept that promise. And that’s when everything changed again. I was shocked to learn that I, too, had breast cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even during treatment, Hazina continued moving forward. She was balancing work, classes, surgeries, and recovery with the support of her husband and family. Now five years cancer-free, Hazina says graduating represents resilience, healing, and perseverance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout her time at ACC, she credits faculty and flexible course options with helping her stay on track.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you again, ACC. I could not have finished if it were not for flexible class schedules.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also recognized professors who made a lasting impact, including Mathematics Professor Enkelejda Bylyku and Management Professor Daniel Ray Dewberry.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Bylyku would come in early and stay late to answer all my questions. And there were a lot of questions, believe me. Professor Dewberry made statistics so understandable and even enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Hazina is preparing for her next chapter at Texas State University, where she plans to continue building toward a bachelor\u2019s degree. As she reflects on her journey, Hazina hopes others considering college understand that there is no deadline on pursuing their goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo it. It doesn\u2019t matter how fast or slow it takes you to finish. It doesn\u2019t matter how old or young you are, either. It is rewarding!\u201d<\/p>\n

ACC will celebrate more than 3,700 spring graduates during its Spring 2026 Commencement ceremonies on Thursday, May 14, at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Ceremonies will be held at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Help celebrate Hazina and the Class of 2026 by sharing a message of encouragement on the Padlet Wall.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Hazina Ngandu, earning a college degree became about much more than school. It became a promise to herself that no matter what life placed in front of her, she would keep going. This spring, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":53022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,13,15,17,19],"tags":[1890,4079,4364,4365,115],"class_list":["post-53021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-updates","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-news-and-announcements","category-students-and-alumni","tag-business-administration","tag-heb-center","tag-spring-2026-commencement","tag-spring-2026-graduation","tag-transfer"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53023,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53021\/revisions\/53023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}