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One Syracuse Native’s Journey to a College Degree One Syracuse Native's Journey to a College Degree

By Brianna Langlois

BRIANNA LANGLOIS: Natalie Mooney says her biggest inspiration is her mom…she raised six kids—by herself.

NATALIE MOONEY: So hardworking. Like even now she’s going to be 60 and she works way more than she should. I feel like her, sort of, you know work ethic was definitely passed down through all of us.

BRIANNA LANGLOIS: All six kids…went to college.

NATALIE MOONEY: Being number five of six kids, you know I saw all of them do well. One of my sisters was the salutatorian. Another one was the valedictorian. So, I feel like just working hard and you know, doing what you can for school has always been something that’s just, you know, been shown to me.

BRIANNA LANGLOIS: Natalie went to Nottingham High School here in Syracuse. The graduation rate is 73%, well below New York state’s average of 84%. According to Natalie’s experience, the Syracuse City School District’s budget is not high enough and this affects its reputation.

NATALIE MOONEY: I had a really, you know, wonderful time in high school but I was always definitely very excited to go to college. I always felt that in some situations, it would feel like I was in a place where people were not excited to learn. And so, I was always ready to be in a place where people literally pay to go learn. Even though I didn’t have to pay.

BRIANNA LANGLOIS: A group called “Say Yes” offered to foot the bill. It had already paid for three of her siblings to go to college, but Natalie wouldn’t get the tuition money unless she earned her dream – with determination and good grades.

NATALIE MOONEY: I was always told you know you’re going to go to college after high school. You’re going to go to college, get a job, start a career and stuff. But it’s never talked about like the finances that go into that. And honestly, I don’t know if I could’ve afforded to go to school if it wasn’t for Say Yes. Because that covered tuition for me at Syracuse, but for some schools it covered tuition and housing. So, I was almost tempted to go to that school because it would’ve been completely free, but you know, Syracuse is great.

BRIANNA LANGLOIS: Without “Say Yes,” Natalie doesn’t think she would’ve been able to study at one of the top journalism schools in the country.

NATALIE MOONEY: I just think that just being able to go to Syracuse was such a blessing and I think it definitely played a big role in where I am today.

BRIANNA LANGLOIS: That passion for learning has taken her far. Now, Natalie is a multimedia journalist in North Carolina. She shoots and edits the stories she finds. Then she posts them online and delivers the news on television.

NATALIE MOONEY: You know I’ve had goals, and I always knew that going to college is how I would get to succeed with those goals. So, it’s just something I’ve always thought about and it was never something that I considered to not be an option.

BRIANNA LANGLOIS: There’s one more Mooney sibling to go, who will be graduating from Ithica College in May. And they owe it all…to mom. In Syracuse, Brianna Langlois, NCC News.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) –  Syracuse native Natalie Mooney’s mom is her biggest inspiration.  Her mother raised six kids by herself.  

Her mom’s work ethic was passed down to all of her kids, according to Mooney.  All six kids went to college.  Mooney is the fifth child and remembers all of her older siblings succeeding in school.

“Working hard and doing what you can for school has been something that’s just been shown to me,” Mooney said.

Mooney graduated from Nottingham High School  in 2014.  The graduation rate in the city of Syracuse is 73 percent, well below New York state’s average of 84 percent.

The Syracuse City School District’s budget is not high enough, and this affects its reputation, according to Mooney’s experience.  Although she said she had a good time in high school, Mooney was excited to go to college.

“It would feel like I was in a place where people were not excited to learn,” Mooney said.  “I was always ready to be in a place where people literally pay to go learn, even though I didn’t have to pay.”

An organization called Say Yes to Education offered to foot the bill.  The group had already paid for two of Mooney’s siblings to go to college.  But there was a catch: Mooney wouldn’t get the tuition money unless she earned her dream on her own with hard work, determination and good grades.

Mooney knew she wanted to go to college after high school, get a job and start a career.  But the finances that go along with that are not talked about enough, according to Mooney.  Say Yes covered her full tuition at Syracuse University.

“Honestly, I don’t know if I could’ve afforded to go to school if it wasn’t for Say Yes,” Mooney said.

Mooney’s passion for learning has taken her far.  Now, she works as a multimedia journalist in North Carolina.  She shoots and edits the stories she finds.  Then, she posts them online and delivers the news on television.

The youngest Mooney sibling will graduate from Ithaca College this month.  She also attended college with the help of Say Yes.

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