Single mother overcomes odds to earn degree

May 13, 2007

By Will Elliott

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - For one Valley woman, this Mothers' Day is extra special.

Megan Peratrovich moved to Palmer 10 years ago from the village of Klawock on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. A parent at 16, Peratrovich left high school to take care of her new child. Since then, Peratrovich has worked relentlessly to better herself.

Today, at 28, Peratrovich marks her first Mother's Day as a college graduate.

“I've done a complete 180,” Peratrovich said, reflecting on the years of effort balancing work, family and school leading up to her degree. “I couldn't tell you how I did it. I just did.”

Peratrovich said she decided to go to college to help support her three kids - Raven, 11, Kendal, 9, and Scarlet, 1. But just as important, it represented a new commitment to herself.

“When my kids were born, I did the whole stay-at-home thing. After they were to the point where they were in school, I decided I could finally go ‘find myself' through college,” Peratrovich said. “It was a chance to figure out who I was outside of being a mom and partner. College was a way to find out what I stood for, what I believed in.”

Peratrovich moved to Palmer when her first child was born because she felt the Valley offered more support to someone in her situation than her rural home.

“I dropped out because I just didn't think I could take care of her and continue with high school there,” Peratrovich said. “Besides my father, because it was a small town, there really wasn't much support.”

Through Job Corps in Palmer, Peratrovich earned her GED and then found employment in human services.

Because of her background, Peratrovich said she felt called to help others.

“It comes naturally to me,” she said.

The challenges of being a teenage single mother were daunting, Peratrovich said, and so she depended on the help of others to succeed.

“I think that made my passion that much greater, because I wanted to be the person helping people through,” Peratrovich said.

After related internships, Peratrovich served as advocate and case manager at Alaska Family Services' domestic

violence shelter in Palmer. Later, she worked as a behavioral health case manager

at the Southcentral Foundation, a Native nonprofit in Anchorage.

While the master's degree she will pursue next will require years of work, Peratrovich is confident in success.

“With children and work, I still finished my B.A. in four years,” she said. “The national average is seven.”

According to Peratrovich, it would not have been possible without the help of the community, especially her mother.

“Without her, it could have been a lot worse,” she said.

Linda Peratrovich, Megan's mother, said her own challenges helped motivate her daughter to stay in school.

“There wasn't money for me to go to college, so I worked all my life,” Linda Peratrovich said. “And she sees how hard it is to struggle with just a high school degree. It takes a college education.”

Now that her daughter is a graduate, Linda Peratrovich feels further honored by her daughter's pursuit of an advanced degree.

“I think it's amazing. She's put in a lot of hard work and she's still going on,” the elder Peratrovich said. “She's did this against all odds.”

Contact Will Elliott at

352-2252 or will.elliott@

frontiersman.com.