Over twenty years ago, Ariel Howard was an 18-year-old with plans to attend Temple University on an academic scholarship–until circumstances beyond her control abruptly changed her course.
“I worked so hard to get here. What am I supposed to do?” Howard remembers asking herself.
Still, she persisted.
Over the next two decades, Howard built a life defined by service, in the military, in healthcare, and as a mother. Now, at 43, she’s come full circle. This spring, she will cross the stage at Rowan College at Burlington County as the President’s Award winner for the Class of 2026.
“I'm telling myself every day: I appreciate that you did this, I love that you did this,” Howard said of choosing to go to college. “I love that you're taking the fear away and the doubt away every single day.”
Before becoming a Baron, Howard’s path was defined by service. She began basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, as a petroleum supply specialist in the United States Army. Over 14 years of active service, she was stationed around the world, including Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan. But the opportunity to see so much of the world came at a cost: she saw much less of her family, including her young son and daughter. Eventually, she made the difficult decision to retire from service.
Howard then worked as a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent at Philadelphia International Airport for six years, reaching 20 years of federal employment. Today, she serves as a mobile Drive Lead in the Biomedical field with the American Red Cross, combining her military leadership experience with her phlebotomy technician certification to draw blood and ensure blood drive sites are safe, clean, and welcoming for donors.
Meanwhile, Howard’s children blossomed into young adults themselves. Her son, Prince, went to Lincoln Technical Institute and completed his training to become a certified electrician. And her daughter, Briana, also an RCBC student, studies environmental science and is set to graduate in December with the goal of becoming a National Park Ranger.
Once confident her children had found their paths, Howard chose to pursue her own lifelong goal of studying early childhood education.
“It wasn’t easy,” Howard admitted. “I’ve struggled with math, I didn’t know how to do this and that… and what is a 40-plus-year-old going to be doing in a class traditionally designed for 18- to 19-year-olds? That’s what took so long to even think about going back. I really doubted myself, and it scared me. And that’s not usually me, nothing scares me.”
Howard soon discovered that progress started with a simple step: taking action.
“Just doing it, completing one thing after the next,” Howard said.
As an inclusive education major, she overcame her math challenges and made the Dean’s List, which made her want to “do cartwheels,” she said. And last semester, she reached another milestone: induction into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, a big achievement that “made me so happy,” she said. “It was a really big achievement.”
After her big commencement day, Howard has two more years of schooling ahead of her as a 3+1 student. In the future, her dream is to become a second-grade teacher. While she’d be open to working with students of any age, the early elementary classroom remains her dream.
One constant remained by her side throughout all this time: her children. And now, they’ll continue pursuing their own paths.
“Some days your kids are your biggest fans, you know,” Howard said. “They might not say it, but I know they're proud, might be a little bit embarrassed at the same college, but they are my rocks. So definitely them. They show me that. I mean, they are strong, they're brilliant in their own little way. I love them to death.”
RCBC’s spring commencement takes place on Wednesday, May 13, at 11 am. Learn more at rcbc.edu/commencement.
