Najat Machiche: "I did it for myself. I did it for my kids. I did it for my dad." (Photos from WXYZ video)
Here's a 43-year-old achiever from Dearborn whose focus and determination inspire.
Najat Machiche, a Dearborn parent of eight with a job, received a Wayne State University electrical engineering degree Thursday morning at the Fox Theatre.
"She's a working mom who decided to go back to school five years ago when her father came to visit from Morocco, where her entire family still lives," reports Syma Chowdhry of WXYZ.
"When my dad came he told me, 'Where is your degree,'" Najat said. . . .
Najat says her dad wanted her to come to America for a PhD in physics in 1999.
She met her husband and started a family instead. Najat has eight kids ranging from 17 down to 8 years old.
"If I did it with eight kids, you can do it."
The couple has six daughters and two sons. Najat, who attended WSU part-time with student loans, describes her busy weekday routine:
"I drop off the kids at school, I come [home] from work, I go exercising, I take my kids to do activities, I cook for my kids."
The ambitious immigrant plans to start master's degree courses at Wayne at the end of August.
"It's my second chance here." . . .
She has this advice for everyone: "Do it. Any woman can do it. Any girl can do it. If I did it with eight kids, you can do it."
