Imagine having to juggle your schoolwork, a job, pay for your rent, bills, and tuition, and on top of all of that, be a nurturing parent to your child. For many of our student-parents, this is an everyday reality; it’s a demanding reality that alumna and adjunct professor Jill Frometa ’19 knows all too well. “I was a 26-year-old single mother when I decided to return to College to finish earning my bachelor’s degree. I completely understand the challenges our student-parents face daily,” Frometa says. Hoping to uplift and encourage our student-parents to continue their education, she created the Jill Frometa Scholarship for Parents, which provides financial support to undergraduate students who are parents of a dependent child and who demonstrate a financial need. “I hope this scholarship helps our student-parents on their way to earning their degree and renews their hopes for the future,” she says. “Student-parents should know that while their path may be unconventional, the goal is the same, to earn that degree. I’m so happy to help support them in whatever way I can.” We spoke with Frometa to learn more about her journey, her time at John Jay, and why creating this scholarship was so important to her.

Sharing Her College Story
Frometa readily admits that the road to earning her own bachelor’s degree wasn’t easy. Nevertheless, her return to college could be chalked up to three things: a deep desire to set a positive example for her children, a wish to create a new path for others, and an unrelenting drive to succeed. “I started at John Jay in 2003. At the time, I was really having a rough go at it in life and I got put on academic probation. I ended up getting kicked out of school and got dismissed in 2005,” she recalls. “My GPA was pretty bad, it was 0.6 and someone at the College told me, ‘You will never come to John Jay again.’”

After having her first child, Bella, Frometa decided she wanted something greater for her and her daughter’s future. “I enrolled in Lehman College’s Adult Degree Program to earn my bachelor’s degree and ended up taking a lot of e-permit courses at John Jay. I also worked as a research assistant at John Jay for a year with Dr. Saul Kassin during this time and it was such a great experience. I remember thinking, I really want to be at John Jay. I love it here. I may not be here as an undergraduate student, but I’ll definitely come back for graduate school.” In 2016, Frometa’s dream came true when she got accepted to John Jay’s Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Program. After excelling in her studies, she graduated in 2019.

Learning as a Single Mother
Frometa’s desire to help John Jay student-parents with the Jill Frometa Scholarship for Parents is a deeply personal endeavor, one informed by her own life experiences. “My mother, Maggie, was a single mom, and I remember when I was just three years old, she would take me to class with her at LaGuardia Community College,” she recalls, citing a lack of resources in child care. “Unfortunately, she didn’t have the support to finish her education, but the experience is a memory I’ll always have. And, in a twist of fate, it’s something I ended up doing with my own daughter years later.”

As a mom returning to college—at the time, she was a single mother—Frometa found that there were few resources to help her succeed. “There was child care available at Lehman, but sometimes I had to take Bella to class with me.” Financially she was also struggling. “I was too old for certain scholarships and too young for others. It was really hard to find financial support. I had a part-time job, took out a lot of student loans, which helped me pay the bills. But it was my mother who was an absolute angel,” says Frometa. “She offered me what no one offered her. My mother said, “I will help you. I’ll pay your rent so that you can finish earning your degree.’ Without her help, I would have never been able to earn my bachelor’s degree. I’m forever grateful for my mother.”

Empowering Students Through Validation
While pursuing her master’s degree at John Jay, Frometa was named the winner of the Sergeant Peter Tam Law Enforcement scholarship, an award that Frometa says meant the world to her. “It really was a moment of validation for me when I learned I won the  award. It was the first scholarship I won based on academic merit and I was really honored by it,” she says. The feeling Frometa felt, of being seen and championed, is a one she’s hoping winners of the Jill Frometa Scholarship for Parents will feel. “For a long time, I felt invisible in the college space, because there were no scholarships geared toward people like me. And, that’s when I told myself, ‘I have to do something to change that.’ I’ve wanted to create this scholarship for a really long time. I hope it helps undergraduate student-parents that could really use a second chance at earning their degree, without fear of being judged. I want it to support someone who’s struggling and could really use a break. Because, I believe if you give people a chance, if you just give them that boost, they’ll go on to do great things.”

Educating Students at John Jay
Her new scholarship isn’t the only way Frometa is making a difference in the lives of our students. Later this month, she’ll participate in John Jay’s Center for Career & Professional Development’s Executives in Residence series where she’ll talk about her career as a City Research Scientist II at the New York City Police Department’s Office of Management, Analysis and Planning (OMAP). And at John Jay, she’s an adjunct professor in the Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration department, where she’s teaching the next generation of fierce advocates for justice and her future colleagues. “I want to be a resource for my students, I want to uplift them and work with them. I may be the professor at the head of the class, but I know my students can also teach me,” says Frometa. “Being a professor at John Jay has been a dream come true.”

Students taking one of Frometa’s three courses this fall semester will be in for a real treat—a possible appearance from her kids Bella and baby Axxel. “The coronavirus pandemic has really humanized the workplace and our learning spaces in unexpected ways,” says Frometa, whose husband, also named Axxel, has been working on the front lines as a registered nurse at a New York City hospital. “What we all need to do is be more understanding and more flexible, and that’s what I try to give my students through my actions. I’ve told all my students—I have 100 students this semester—that during class my son will be joining us. And, my daughter will definitely be interrupting us from time to time. If they have kids, there is no need to try and hide them or be anxious that they’ll interrupt the lesson. It’s okay,” she says, noting that distance learning means we all need to make room for flexibility. “I am very open and accessible to my students. I tell them, especially the ones who have kids, ‘Whatever you’re going through, whatever it is, let me know and we’ll work it out. We will make it work.’ Because I’ve been there, I know how difficult it can be to balance everything and I want to do my part to help them in any way I can. It’s why I’m so open and honest about my story and it’s why I wanted to create this scholarship. I want to help lift up our students and show them they’re not alone on this journey.”

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Read all about how Jill Frometa Reclaims Her Criminal Justice Dreams with a Master’s Degree from John Jay