At 30 years old, Anisa found herself starting over.
After years as a stay-at-home mom, she made the difficult decision to leave her marriage. She had little recent work experience, a 7-year-old son to care for and a new vision for what she wanted their future to look like.
A first-generation college student, Anisa graduated from Gateway Community College with an associate degree and is now continuing on a path toward a career in nuclear medicine. A path that was made possible after she had moved into Phoenix Scholar House.
Today, she is balancing motherhood, school and part-time work while preparing for the next stage of her education. We sat down with Anisa to talk about starting over, raising a son who already wants to follow in his mom’s footsteps and what having a stable home has made possible.
Q: You’ve experienced a lot of change in a relatively short period of time. How did you arrive at Phoenix Scholar House?
Anisa: It actually happened very fast. I had been a stay-at-home mom, and I had just turned 30 when I decided to leave my marriage. I didn’t have a lot of recent work experience, and suddenly I was figuring out what came next for my son and me.
I learned about Phoenix Scholar House and started going through the orientation and application process. Arianna, my case manager, reached out and helped me through everything, including the housing application.
Within about a month, I was here.
I wasn’t expecting the amount of support that came with it. I thought I was moving into affordable housing. I didn’t realize Arianna and the Save the Family team would actually be here and available to us so much.
Q: You’re pursuing a career in nuclear medicine. What led you to that field?
Anisa: I originally studied criminal justice.I took a break from school, worked and had my son. Eventually, I came back to college.
My interest in nuclear medicine actually came from my own experience as a patient. I have a thyroid condition, and during a procedure involving radioactive iodine, I was lying there for about an hour and started talking to the person performing my test.
I became fascinated by what they did.
I learned that the only program in the state is here at Gateway Community College, and I realized this could be a career for me. Now I’m working toward that goal.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you?
Anisa: Busy!
I usually wake up around 5:30 in the morning and make breakfast for my son while getting myself ready. I wake him up around 6, and then we have about a 20-minute drive to his school. We get there around 7:10.
While he’s at school, I’m usually swamped with homework and everything I need to get done for school. I’m also working part time with Mountain Park Health Center, it’s a brand new job. Then I pick him up around 2:30, and we start the second half of our day—his homework and reading, dinner, bath time and getting ready for bed.
No matter how exhausting the day is, I read to him every night.
Q: What motivates you to keep going when balancing all of that becomes difficult?
Anisa: Sometimes it is hard to manage. There are definitely moments when I think, “I’m not going to be able to manage all of this.”
But I have a drive in me.
I’m a first-generation college student. I want to break generational cycles in my family—poverty and instability. That gives me my drive.
And my son pushes me to do it.
He knows I’m studying STEM and nuclear medicine. He talks about wanting to be a scientist like Mom. He’s interested in robotics and coding. Hearing him talk about college already makes me realize that he’s watching everything I’m doing.
I want him to grow up believing education and opportunity are for him, too.
Q: How has Phoenix Scholar House made pursuing your education easier?
Anisa: It means so much to me because I don’t always have to think about basic necessities.
Transportation, for example, can still be difficult. I share a car with my soon-to-be ex-husband. If I don’t have a ride, I know Phoenix Scholar House can help connect me with resources.
There’s also the food pantry, the on-site support and people I can talk to when I’m struggling.
Arianna has helped me with scholarship opportunities, too. She encouraged me to apply for a scholarship through the Turnbow Foundation. That kind of support matters because school isn’t just tuition. For my nuclear medicine program, there are books, scrubs and all of the other expenses that come with pursuing a degree and career.
Having someone say, “You should apply for this,” or helping me find another resource gives me confidence to keep going.
Q: Tell us more about your relationship with your case manager.
Anisa: Honestly, I love her.
Arianna and I have been through some of the same struggles and dealt with some of the same issues. I feel like she understands.
I feel supported and empowered.
She’s not doing the work for me. I’m still the one going to school, working, parenting and doing what I need to do. But I know I have someone here who can help me work through a problem, connect me with a resource or remind me that I can do this.
That support helps me grow.
Q: What has surprised you most about living at Phoenix Scholar House?
Anisa: The community.
Pretty much everyone who lives here is in the same boat in some way. We’re parents trying to go to school, work and build something better.
Some people here have come from backgrounds that are even harder than my own, and they’re still making it happen. That’s inspiring.
I’ve made friends here, too. Our next girls’ night is actually going to be a study night!
There are community events too. We had a back-to-school event in July where community partners helped families get school supplies, because the adults need them too! We’ve had things like a rock-painting party. There’s a calendar every month with things for families to do.
My son is shy, but he’s making connections, too. One day he told me about another child, “I think he’s going to be my friend.”
Those little things mean a lot.
Q: What does your apartment feel like to you and your son?
Anisa: It feels like home here.
I love our apartment. It’s perfect for the two of us. We’re on the second floor in a one-bedroom, and my son has his own little nook. Everything was brand new when we moved in. We have a washer and dryer, and the internet was already set up.
I’m especially excited for the holidays.
There are so many kids here, and I think there’s going to be this magic in the air with all of us parents trying to make the holidays special for them.
And this is my home. I can decorate it however I want. We can make it ours.
Q: Your son has watched you graduate while beginning his own education. What has that been like?
Anisa: This year was really special because we both had graduations—his kindergarten graduation and my associate degree.
My son sees what I’m doing. He knows I’m going to school. He knows what I’m studying. And now he’s talking about science and college.
That’s one of the biggest reasons I’m doing this.
My parents are very proud of how far I’ve come, too. Neither of them graduated from high school, and when I have hard days, I call them.
My friends have seen the difference as well. They tell me I look happy. They see that my son looks happy.
We’re thriving.
Q: What do you hope comes next?
Anisa: I want to continue my education and earn my bachelor’s degree.
I want to walk across that stage. I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.
Eventually, I want to build a career in nuclear medicine, possibly working with radiopharmaceuticals or in an outpatient setting. I’d also love the opportunity to work in rural or lower-income communities where access to health care can be limited.
I grew up in South Phoenix, so making opportunities and health care more accessible to people is important to me.
But beyond my professional career, I want to be an inspiration. I want to be someone other people can come to and look at and say, “She did it.”
I want people to know it’s never too late to make a change in your life.
I’m 30. I’m raising my son. I’m working. I’m going to school. I’m rebuilding my life.
And I’m doing it.
Q: What does Phoenix Scholar House ultimately mean to you?
Anisa: It gives me stability while I’m building what comes next.
I don’t have to struggle through everything alone. I have resources. I have people I can talk to. I have a community around me.
It gives me the confidence to keep going.
I want to break the cycles of poverty and instability in my family. I want my son to see what is possible. I want to finish my education, build my career and be able to help other people someday.
Phoenix Scholar House is helping me do all of that.
It feels like home.