Wayne State junior Mary Thao knows that getting a college education is important for her future, but that’s not her main motivation.

She wants to earn a degree to honor her mother, May Sheng Lee, who died unexpectedly in 2018.

“This one’s for her,” Thao said. “She grew up and had a lot of hardships. My mom came here when she was a little kid and didn’t have the opportunity to go college. She didn’t have it easy. I just think that given what she’s been through, this is the least I can do.”

Growing up, Thao loved school and her mother was very supportive of her education. She said her mother would always recite to her a Hmong saying, “Kev kawm yog tus yuam sij rau kev vam meej,” which translates to “education is the key to success.”

“I knew college would always be the route for me to go, and since she’s passed, I’ve made sure to never give up, no matter how hard it is,” Thao said. “There were times when I felt stressed and weak. I was drained financially, emotionally and mentally. But just as she encouraged me throughout high school, she’s still encouraging me now, and it will always be like that. She was — and will always be — my reason to continue.

“She worked hard her whole life and never failed to make me feel like I could do anything,” Thao continued. “She was my mom, but she was also my first teacher and my No. 1 supporter.”

Thao said that her mother not only supported her schoolwork, but also all of her activities outside of the classroom. She joined the Upward Bound program at California State University, Chico, and Lee made sure that Thao took advantage of all the program had to offer.

“With every extracurricular thing that I did, she would she would always be there,” Thao said. “I used to do a lot of volunteer work, and so I would go to different schools and different nursing homes, and she would always be there. We were so close.”

Lee got to see Thao go away to college. Thao was a freshman at Sonoma State University in California when her mother and stepfather died unexpectedly.

“My siblings didn’t want to tell me until after my finals because they wanted me to do well,” Thao said. “But obviously I heard, and a bunch of other people reached out.”

Thao and her siblings were very close, and it was those relationships she would lean on during such a difficult time. The five of them decided to move to Michigan to be closer to their grandparents and got a place together.

“My brother Michael works full time to help support us,” Thao said. “When everything happened, he decided to work full time so I could continue school. I’m really thankful for that.”

Thao’s younger sister Tia is also in college, and her sister Ruby, 15, and brother Sean, 14, attend Cousino High School in Warren.

“We were always close, but since we lost our mom we’ve gotten so much closer,” Thao said. “Going through so much, it’s really brought us together. We do everything together. We now have a very different take on life; we don’t take anything for granted. We do things together, and we make sure we keep our loved ones close. I hope my mom is proud of me and my siblings, and is always watching us from above.”

As a first-generation college student, Thao has faced her own set of challenges but feels she’s in a good position to help her siblings when it’s their time to go to college.

“Knowing what I know now, I get to teach my younger siblings,” she said. “All the things I didn’t know, I can teach them. There are so many paths you can pursue that I didn’t necessarily know about.”

Upon moving to Michigan, Thao attended Macomb Community College before transferring to Wayne State. Here, she is majoring in psychology and minoring in public health and sociology.

“My psychology advisor, Corinne Forys, has been really amazing, guiding me through my courses and helping me figure out what I want to do after,” Thao said. “I think the best path right now is to apply for graduate school at Wayne State after graduation, and then work as a community or school psychologist. I worked as a day care teacher for a year, and I loved it. It was hard, but it was amazing. I love working with kids.”

Thao believes her mother would be proud of everything that she and her siblings have accomplished thus far — and nothing is going to stop her from earning a degree in her mother’s honor.

“She was my biggest supporter and always wished for me to continue my education,” Thao said. “The degree is for me, but it’s for her too.”