Anna-Marie DiPasquale: From Self-Doubt to Lasting Confidence and Why College Still Matters

This article appeared in the spring 2026 issue of New England College Magazine.

Anna-Marie DiPasquale

BA Psychology ’87

At a time when many are questioning the value of higher education, Anna-Marie DiPasquale ’87 offers a clear and thoughtful answer: Yes, college still matters. But how you approach it matters just as much.

For Anna-Marie, a psychology major and first-generation college student, NEC was more than a place to earn a degree. It was where she found her confidence, discovered her voice, and built the foundation for a life of purpose.

“Intellectually, I didn’t always think I belonged,” she recalls. “But NEC gave me the confidence to believe that I did.”

That confidence didn’t come from a single class or assignment. It was built through relationships. During a Model United Nations conference in Boston, Anna-Marie found herself surrounded by students from elite institutions like Harvard and began to doubt herself. Her professor Dr. Montford “Bunny” Sayce quickly intervened.

“He told me, ‘You hold your head up high. You are just as capable and hard working as anyone else in this room,’” she says.

Years later, as she interviewed for graduate school at the University of Chicago, that moment came rushing back.

“That message stayed with me,” she says. “It reminded me that I deserved to be there.”She went on to earn her master’s in social work and build a meaningful career serving others, but she credits NEC with planting the seed.“That’s something college gives you that’s hard to replicate anywhere else,” she says. “That belief in yourself.”

Anna-Marie’s career path—spanning Capitol Hill, McDonald’s Corporation in Chicago, and ultimately social work—was not linear. But the skills she developed at NEC traveled with her every step of the way.

“Writing, critical thinking, learning how to form an argument and support it—those were things I used right away,” she says. “Even when working on Capitol Hill, those were the exact skills I was using.

Her experience reflects a broader truth about higher education: Its value isn’t limited to a specific job outcome. It’s about building a toolkit that applies across industries and throughout a lifetime.

“It’s not just about the material,” she explains. “It’s how to think, how to solve problems, how to communicate.”

Those skills proved essential as she navigated career changes and ultimately found her calling in social work.

For Anna-Marie, some of the most meaningful lessons came when classroom learning connected to real life. As part of a senior project with her advisor Mira Braunstein, Anna-Marie conducted developmental testing with her young nephew, an
experience that helped her family advocate for his educational needs.

“It showed me that what we were learning had real impact,” she says. “It wasn’t just academic; it mattered.”

Experiences like that, along with courses that expanded her worldview and a semester studying at NEC’s former Arundel campus in England, shaped how she saw the world.

“I didn’t expect college to open things up in that way,” she says. “But it did. It changed how I think and how I see others.”

As someone who spent years working in education, Anna-Marie understands why families are asking tough questions about the cost of college, and she believes those questions are valid.

“College is expensive,” she says. “Students and families have to be thoughtful about it.”

In her work as the school social worker at Concord High School in New Hampshire, she worked with immigrant and refugee students. She often emphasized financial literacy, helping them understand debt, weigh their options, and make informed decisions about their futures.

“It’s not college at all costs,” she explains. “It’s about making college work for you.”

That might mean starting at a community college, exploring different pathways, or choosing a school that offers the right balance of opportunity and affordability. But for those who choose it and approach it thoughtfully, she believes the return
is undeniable.

“For me, it was absolutely worth it,” she says. “I would do it again, and I would choose NEC again.”

So, does college still matter? For Anna-Marie, the answer goes far beyond career outcomes or earning potential. College provided structure, discipline, and the opportunity to grow in ways that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

“It teaches you follow-through. It teaches you how to commit to something and see it through,” she says.

It also offers something less tangible but equally important: exposure to new ideas, new people, and new ways of thinking.
“You meet people outside your own circle,” she says. “You’re challenged to think differently. That’s incredibly valuable.”

And perhaps most importantly, it creates a space—especially for first-generation students—to discover what’s possible.

“My professors were my mentors,” she says. “They saw things in me that I didn’t always see in myself.”

Looking back, Anna-Marie sees her time at New England College as a turning point, not because it defined her path, but because it prepared her to navigate it.

“It created a foundation,” she says. “A kind of confidence and way of thinking that I carried with me through everything.”

In today’s evolving landscape, her perspective is both grounded and hopeful: College still matters, but its value lies not just in the destination, but in the transformation along the way.

“It’s about what you do with it,” she says. “If you’re open, if you’re willing to learn, it can shape your entire life.

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