Ashleigh South.

Ashleigh South of Delmar, Md., discovered her passion for education while substitute teaching in Wicomico County. After having her second child, she opened a family child care home so that she could share that passion and be home with her children at the same time.

Although she had a bachelor’s degree in psychology and had knowledge of child development, she wanted to further her knowledge in curriculum and the educational side of child care, so she decided to pursue an associate degree in early childhood education. She said she chose Wor-Wic because she had always heard great things about it. “The faculty and staff are very accommodating to non-traditional students like me,” South said. “When I was a student, I was also working full time, and Wor-Wic had a schedule that met my needs.”

South said she liked the sense of community at Wor-Wic. “I always felt welcome and the faculty never made me feel like I was an inconvenience or bothering them. There was never a time when I had to make a decision between my education and work, since all my classes were in the evening.”

South started taking classes at Wor-Wic in the fall of 2017, opened the Northwood Early Learning Center in March of 2018 and completed the requirements for her degree in August of 2019. She was a dean’s list student and member of Wor-Wic’s Alpha Nu Omicron chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa international honor society.

South said that although she already had a bachelor’s degree before beginning her time at Wor-

Wic, her associate degree helped her become more proficient in her field, and to share her education with her staff.

She currently has 23 employees and is licensed for 90 children. “Several employees are Wor-

Wic graduates and several are current students,” South said. Although she said she didn’t push them to attend Wor-Wic, she has shared her enthusiasm about the Maryland Department of Education’s Child Care Career and Professional Development Fund, which is how she attended Wor-Wic.

“The relationships that you develop with your instructors are invaluable. I keep in touch with many of them on a regular basis. I have helped them find locations for student field experience placements, and we talk about current issues in the field. I think the fact that I am not ‘forgotten’ after graduation or viewed as a number is what makes me feel such a strong connection to Wor-Wic.”

As an alum and local business owner, South serves on Wor-Wic’s education program advisory committee, which provides community input into the college’s academic offerings and helps develop curriculum, monitor program progress and serve as ambassadors for the program.

“Eventually,” she said, “I would like to earn my master’s degree. Ultimately, I’d like to work as a licensing specialist for the local child care office of the Maryland Department of Education.”

Wor-Wic’s early childhood education program prepares graduates to become child care center operators, program directors or senior staff members in child care agencies or organizations.