(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY) Lorraine Williams is Empire State University’s 100,000th alum. Williams, who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in nursing, exemplifies the university’s mission to create opportunities for adult learners seeking to continue their education and pursue their goals.  

Williams said she spent decades trying to earn her college degree. While searching for an institution that would provide her with the flexibility and affordability needed to earn one while working full-time, she came across SUNY Empire. At that time, SUNY Empire did not yet have a nursing degree program, so she earned her associate degree in nursing from Suffolk County Community College and began her career in health care. When she was ready to earn her bachelor’s degree, she turned to SUNY Empire.  

She said her academic journey sometimes felt like a full-time job. She would work her shifts and then tackle her school assignments in the middle of the night, determined to succeed in her career and her coursework.  

“I had to stay up late—until six o’clock in the morning sometimes—to finish my assignments,” Williams said. “If I knew an assignment was going to take a long time, I would look at it like it was part of my work schedule.”  

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