The Hart family hearts Fitchburg State University.
The passion for everything Fitchburg State is a family affair, too.
The Hart’s, of Shirley, Mass., are no doubt enthusiastic about the Green and Gold, and proudly showcased those beautiful colors on graduation in May. That’s when twin sisters Stephanie and Katie earned bachelor’s degrees, along with mother, Sue.
There’s a fourth Hart family member, Ashley, who is all-in on the Fitchburg State experience. She is in her sophomore year.
The Harts continue to trust Fitchburg State and added to their tradition of family members attending the university. Oldest sister, Jocelyn, was accepted into the music therapy program and just completed the fall semester.
“So you can see how much of an impact Fitchburg has had on us,” Katie Hart said. “They have treated us so well.”
Those Harts have a lot of love for family and for Fitchburg State University.
“Attending Fitchburg State for four years was an experience that helped me grow into the person that I am today,” said Stephanie Hart ‘25, who earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing. “Everyone on campus from my peers to President (Donna) Hodge pushed me to take advantage of opportunities presented to me. Fitchburg State helped me gain confidence in myself while learning invaluable skills that I will use forever. I would not be who I am today without my experience at Fitchburg State.
“The experience of graduating with both my sister and my mom was something I never thought would happen,” she said. “Most people don't sit next to their mom while they are graduating college, but it was something we got to do together which felt powerful.”
Katie Hart ‘25, with a bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science in hand, admits that graduating with her sister and mother was an unforgettable thrill in life.
“It was probably one of the biggest moments we have had together as a family,” she said. “We are all so proud of my mom since earning her bachelor's degree was a major dream of hers. To watch her actually do it was amazing.”
There’s so much appreciation, admiration and respect for their mother, Sue ‘25, who worked many years as a nurse while also tackling all the challenges of having four children.
“It was bittersweet watching them graduate,” admitted youngest sister, Ashley Hart. “I especially felt beyond proud of my mom for taking the steps to achieve a dream she has had for many years. She did this while working, supporting her family, going to all our games, and more. I am proud of all the hard work they all put in.”
Katie Hart still remembers all the years her mom worked the evening shift so she could spend her days taking care of the family.
“My father is a retired firefighter so she would not have any time to achieve her goals during his career while having four children,” Katie Hart said. “Now that we are older she has been able to achieve her dream.”
Attending Fitchburg State for four years was an experience that helped me grow into the person that I am today. Everyone on campus from my peers to President (Donna) Hodge pushed me to take advantage of opportunities presented to me. Fitchburg State helped me gain confidence in myself while learning invaluable skills that I will use forever. I would not be who I am today without my experience at Fitchburg State. The experience of graduating with both my sister and my mom was something I never thought would happen. Most people don't sit next to their mom while they are graduating college, but it was something we got to do together which felt powerful.
Sue Hart graduated from Worcester City Hospital School of Nursing with a diploma degree in nursing, and for the past 18 years has worked on the Psychiatric Treatment and Recovery Center at UMASS Memorial Health Care in Worcester.
With a daughterly-nudge by Stephanie, who secretly signed her mom up for more information about the RN (Registered Nurse) to BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) program at Fitchburg State, the next thing she knew she was going back to school.
“The school was wonderful about accepting all my classes that I had taken so long ago,” Sue Hart said. “I was afraid that I was going to have to repeat many (classes), since they were so old. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Sue Hart credits President Hodge with reassuring her oldest daughter about returning to college to earn a bachelor's degree. It all started with a simple introduction during festivities surrounding graduation last spring.
“Jocelyn has always been on the shy side,” Sue Hart said. “President Hodge grabbed hold of her with such a caring attitude and was extremely encouraging to her. She even mentioned her in the graduation speech about our family. Jocelyn was amazed that someone was so encouraging to her and didn’t even know her. The president even told her to call her this summer, which she did, to discuss coming to Fitchburg State. We are hoping that Jocelyn and Ashley will graduate together in three years.”
Jocelyn Hart said that she doesn’t believe that she would’ve gone back to school if it wasn’t for President Hodge.
“I suppose that she immediately saw something in me and told me that I could do it,” Jocelyn Hart said. “At a point where I was beginning to feel like I would never figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and a point where I was beginning to think that I was going to work in a grocery store for the rest of my life, the president's outreach and support inspired me to go back, for which I will always be grateful.”
And this fall, Jocelyn Hart prospered as a Fitchburg State student.
“The teachers here genuinely seem to care about each individual student, and the students themselves have been really wonderful and welcoming,” said Jocelyn Hart, who auditioned to be a part of the chamber choir and also is in the concert choir on campus. “It’s been really amazing to actually get the college experience after missing out due to Covid.”
President Hodge’s kindness has meant so much to the family, said Katie Hart.
“The Hart family embodies everything I love about Fitchburg State — persistence, pride, and the power of learning together,” said President Hodge, the 12th president of Fitchburg State University and the first woman to hold this prestigious position. “When I met Jocelyn during commencement season, I spoke about her family in my address because their story is a reminder that it’s never too late to start, or to start again. As a first-generation college graduate myself, I know how transformative that leap of faith can be. I’m so proud that all of the Hart sisters, and their mom, have made Fitchburg State part of their story — and that we get to be part of theirs.”
Jocelyn Hart is enrolled at Fitchburg State with an associate’s degree in music from another institution.
“I am super excited to have her go to school with me,” Ashley Hart said.
Another memorable experience on the road to graduation was during the senior nursing pinning ceremony, which symbolizes readiness to enter the nursing profession.
“This night was particularly special for me because I was able to have my mom pin me,” Stephanie Hart said. “It was special to have my family and friends watch me get pinned by my mom that night.”
Stephanie Hart is a fourth-generation nurse in the family.
“It is wonderful to carry on that tradition,” Sue Hart said.
Hectic schedules are a common occurrence when athletics meet the rigors of a full academic schedule. It was magnified for Stephanie Hart, who was focused on getting her degree in nursing while playing basketball.
“Looking back on my academic and athletic career at Fitchburg I don't know how I did it,” Stephanie Hart said. “Playing basketball in college is not just practices and games. It includes lifts, conditioning, team bonding/activities, long travel days, treatment for injuries, fundraising and more.”
The nursing schedule can be a beast with long classes, clinical, labs, simulations, studying for exams, assignments, papers, portfolios and other elective classes.
Combining basketball and nursing classes requires very good time management.
“For me, I benefited from having such a tight schedule because I had limited free time,” Stephanie Hart said. “In my free time I would study, do assignments or go to work. I didn't have much time to decide when I would study for each exam. I did not have much room to procrastinate.”
With that came the struggles of scheduling between academic and athletic commitments, especially during the winter where basketball takes center stage at the Recreation Center.
“I would have to try to get into a morning lab on game days but go to clinical on non-game days,” said Stephanie Hart. “I had to collaborate with my clinical instructors, nursing coordinators, the dean of nursing, the dean of health and natural sciences and my coach in order to figure out a solution to my scheduling disaster. I could always find a time to go to my required lifts, but I rarely lifted with the entire team there. I only had to miss one game and one scrimmage my entire career. However, I had to drive myself to games if my class, clinical, lab or simulation was past the time the bus left. If I did not have the help from my instructors and coach I would not have been able to accomplish both basketball and nursing.”
Throughout her life, Katie Hart says that everything has always been centered around family and community, and that was a big part of her decision to transfer to Fitchburg State.
“The second I got to Fitchburg State, I immediately felt like I was in the place I was supposed to be,” said Katie Hart. “Not only did I get to get a fantastic education for a lower cost, but I got to transfer to a basketball team that was a better fit for me.”
Immediately while on campus, Katie Hart got involved by working at the Recreation Center for home-game management and also became a student ambassador for the exercise and sports science department.
“Fitchburg State gave me the opportunity to be involved, and I truly feel like I was able to be a part of the community,” Katie Hart said.
It’s also hard not to think about family when it comes to basketball. At Fitchburg State, Stephanie and Katie, who transferred into Fitchburg State as a sophomore in the winter of 2022, suited up and competed on the hardwood for the Falcons.
Not a lot of people get the chance to play a collegiate sport, nevermind play with their siblings.
“Playing basketball with both of my sisters in college was something that I never thought would happen,” Stephanie Hart said. “Having three collegiate athletes going to the same school, playing the same sport, at the same time, in the same family is a fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Sharing that same basketball journey with each other is a memorable experience, too.
“We are all going through the same difficulties, we were able to lean on each other to get through it together,” Stephanie Hart said. “Playing a collegiate sport is no easy task, but having great teammates and sometimes even sisters help make everything worth it. We went through late nights, early mornings, hardships and successes together. It is really a different experience with sisters because you do everything together and it becomes the family endeavor.”
The twins played basketball together since the start of middle school and at Ayer-Shirley Regional High School, and formulated that built-in chemistry from the jump, fully aware of each other’s playing style and embracing that sister connection.
“To play college basketball with Stephanie was very special because it ties back into how important family is to us,” Katie Hart said. “We had each other's back both on and off the court. To be able to have someone go through the same thing as you, it is easy to feel connected with each other.”
Then, last year, as a freshman, little sister Ashley Hart enrolled at Fitchburg State and joined the Falcon family as a member of the Fitchburg State women’s basketball team.
“When Ashley joined the team, we were very excited because we have never played on the same team before,” Katie Hart said. “It was a cool experience to step on the court at the same time as my sisters. I will remember the friendships I have made with my teammates and the memories we made together.”
Ashley Hart is simply thankful that she still had a chance to go to school and play basketball with her sisters, even if it was for only one year.
“Now that they graduated it will definitely be different,” said Ashley Hart, who attended Nashoba Valley Technical High School and is pursuing a construction management degree at Fitchburg State. “I’ll miss having them around and bonding over school, as well as our rides to practice together and being on the same team. I look up to them and they are always there for me when I need them. It will be different not seeing them as much, but I am so proud of them.”
All three sisters never played together on the same team since they were three years apart in age and went to different high schools, so watching them suit up for the Falcons last winter took on a whole new meaning for the family.
“One of the best parts was the three of them being able to play on the women’s basketball team,” admitted proud mom, Sue Hart.
Stephanie Hart says that they are a close-knit family, with an assist to “years of basketball bringing us together.”
“Yeah we are pretty close,” Ashley Hart said. “We do lots of things together on and off the court. I’m so grateful to have the family I do. My parents never miss a game and they support us in everything we do. I don’t know what I’d do without them and I can’t thank them enough.”
Four years in Fitchburg went by in a blink of an eye.
“I really had a great four years at Fitchburg State, everyone from faculty to students are very friendly and welcoming,” Stephanie Hart said. “Anyone could walk on campus and we could find a space for them. I made numerous connections with so many great people, both through my athletic career and my academic career through the nursing program.”
“I will remember the people and the memories we made together,” Katie Hart said. “I will remember how valued I felt at the university, that I was part of a huge family.”
The love for Fitchburg State is real. It’s all the support and opportunities Fitchburg State has to offer that is unmatched by other universities, says Katie Hart.
“No matter how you learn, Fitchburg State is there for you to figure out what you need for your unique path,” said Katie Hart, who works as a medical assistant for Emerson endocrinology. “There is a sense of family and community even if you are not from the area. I know that some people may want to go to a bigger school, but the size of Fitchburg State is the best thing about it. It gives the professor and staff the opportunity to learn personal details about the students, which allows them to take the time to cater their experience to what works best for them. Fitchburg State also has many opportunities to get involved. On-campus jobs, as well as clubs and activities, bring people together and it's a great way to meet people.”