Toni De Rosa (Supan) said she just wanted to be normal like everyone else on campus. But because the CSUB student had to deal with strokes and some sight and hearing loss she would be anything but.

Despite these challenges she didn’t let anything stop her from receiving her bachelor’s degree in communications. And her educational journey isn’t over just yet.

It would be difficult to find someone more resolute than the 55-year-old De Rosa. “I was told in 1997 that I would not be able to finish school because of my brain damage,” she said. “However, I am and always have been determined to prove wrong those who say I can’t. … Getting my bachelor’s degree is something I’ve felt I’ve always wanted since I graduated from high school in 1967. … In my old life (when she was working) I could never get past the secretary title or job description.”

Her high school dream of earning a college diploma wouldn’t come easily. De Rosa had a stroke in 1989 that left her blind in one eye and wearing hearing aids. Even though she was faced with these challenges she became a renegade and received her associate of arts degree in liberal studies from Bakersfield College in the early ’90s.

Life didn’t get any easier. She suffered another stroke in 1997, which caused cognitive disabilities. “I have little or no short-term memory and difficulty with organizational tasks,” she said.

This didn’t help her being a college student. “The biggest struggle I’ve had is accepting my limitations. … I remember acing algebra and being asked to tutor over at BC before my second stroke. However, I almost didn’t pass intro to algebra when I decided to return to school (at CSUB). … I had an algebra instructor remind me that I’m not the same person, I had to accept I was a completely different Toni.”

De Rosa said she had difficulty remembering information for tests and required note takers, but she didn’t want or receive any special treatment.

She also established new friendships. “Toni was very intent on making CSUB her new family,” said Pratt, CSUB communications professor. “She would go out and do things with her fellow students. She helped push them to graduate. And now those students are pushing her.”