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Marisela Bobadilla is determined and persistent. Typically, she begins her day at 3:30 a.m. by heading to the gym for some “me time” before the one-and-a-half-hour commute to her job as an analyst for the Department of Defense. At home at the end of the day, her focus turns to her family: her husband, Tom Hall, and her 8-year-old son, Anthony. Bobadilla’s mother, who is experiencing health issues, also lives with the family. 

Bobadilla is Hall’s caregiver. After 21 years of active duty in the U.S. Army, with seven deployments (including five war-time tours) in the Middle East, he is retired from the service with disabilities. That means when Bobadilla is not working, much of her time is spent taking her husband to medical appointments at Veterans Affairs (VA) health facilities. She does that in addition to her other family responsibilities and her studies at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), where she hopes to graduate in spring 2025 with a graduate certificate in leadership and management.

Bobadilla’s longer-term aim is a second master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and management, which she began this summer. Her Pillars of Strength Scholarship will be instrumental in helping meet that goal.

“This scholarship gives me and my family peace of mind, especially financially. It’s amazing, I have a zero balance for the rest of the school year. It also means I can successfully finish my second master’s degree,” she said. 

Bobadilla learned of the full-tuition scholarship for caregivers of servicemembers through a ��������announcement seeking applications. She began her application but then abandoned it. She didn’t think that she was worthy of the support because her husband’s disabilities are invisible and “not so bad” when compared to those of other veterans. 

But a ��������staff member reached out and encouraged Bobadilla to finish the application, so she took the leap. She is deeply grateful to be named among this year’s recipients.

“Overall UMGC, with its ongoing support along with the Pillars of Strength Scholarship, made possible in part by the generous contribution from the Blewitt Foundation, helps tremendously in keeping [students and their families] stay determined in striving for academic excellence,” Bobadilla said. “This is even more true for those of us balancing the everyday demands of being a caregiver to a recovering veteran.” 

The online courses and flexibility ��������offers were crucial factors in Bobadilla’s decision to resume her studies. She also pointed to the help she received from her advisors, professors and the Veterans Resources and Services office at UMGC. She said they made her transition back into postsecondary education much smoother than she anticipated, noting that the university community feels “like family” to her.  

Passionate about giving back and supporting other veterans with disabilities, she ultimately aspires to work in a social services capacity with the VA in El Paso, Texas. 

Bobadilla and her family are currently residents of Santa Teresa, New Mexico. When not spending time with her family, working or studying, she volunteers with MuttLove Dog Rescue, shuttles her son and members of his basketball team to their games and coordinates donations for an orphanage in Mexico. 

Bobadilla is a lifelong learner, a quality she hopes to instill in her son and others in her community by continuing to attain degrees and showing that returning to school as a nontraditional learner is possible.

“Going back to school at any stage of our lives is a great opportunity to broaden our horizons and develop a growth mindset,” she said.