Linda Goldstein, 51, did her best to raise her daughter, Nicole, in a traditional two-parent household. Nicole's father died when she was just two years old. Linda and Nicole relied heavily upon Linda's parents to help them with the less and moving forward with their life.

Even in mourning, Linda knew she had to do what she needed to do for her family. She continued to work a full-time job at Phillip Morris, until she realized she would not grow at the company without a college degree. Linda decided to take a paycut of about $20,000 a year in order to work for CUNY and get a college degree.

Today, both women work at CUNY. Nicole works for Queensborough while her mother, a May 2009 graduate of CWE, works at Laguardia. The best of friends, both share an apartment in Brooklyn and household chores. Prior to her mom's graduation, these two best of friends made sure to take some classes together. "We were like the Gilmore Girls," Nicole said, referring to her and her mom's behavior after enrolling in "Acting and the Play"  together. Nicole, 22, is expected with a Liberal Arts degree in May 2010.