Roca named Michael Nugent Scholarship recipient as she nears graduation
Kim Chaudoin |
Elizabeth Roca’s path to a college degree has been shaped by perseverance, faith and a calling to help families find hope in hard places.
Now Roca, who is pursing a degree in psychology through Lipscomb Online, has been named the 2025-26 Michael Nugent Scholarship recipient, an award established to support online students and to honor the memory of Michael Andrew Nugent, who was enrolled in Lipscomb Online at the time of his death in January 2018 at age 28.
Roca, who grew up in Mystic, Connecticut, said the scholarship arrives at a meaningful moment as she prepares to complete her degree this summer.
“I am still blown away and incredibly grateful to have been chosen as the recipient of the Michael Nugent Scholarship,” Roca said. “To walk in his legacy, as a hardworking and dedicated father, means more to me than I can express. This support allows me to continue pursuing my education with gratitude and purpose.”
Roca said she was drawn to psychology and particularly to the field of marriage and family therapy through personal experience that included instability early in life and difficult seasons in adulthood.
“Growing up, life held a lot of hard moments,” she explained. “From a very young age, it felt hard to ever feel settled. There were always questions in the background, always a sense that things could change at any moment. Trauma didn’t arrive once, it stayed.”
When Roca was five years old her mother left and two years later her house burned down and her family lost everything. At 18, she left home to forge her own path and along the way she met her husband. They walked through difficult seasons together that tested their relationship and moments “when it seemed easier to give up than believe things could truly change.”
“But God. Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. What once felt impossible, we lived to see,” shared Roca. “Because of this journey, I am pursuing marriage and family therapy, to sit with couples and families in the places I know so well. When everything feels lost. When nothing feels safe. When hope feels thin. I am living proof that healing and restoration are possible.”
Roca’s professional experience has reinforced that direction. For several years, she has worked with wives, mentoring them as they pursue restoration in their marriages. She also discovered she thrives in online learning while balancing family responsibilities.
“I completed my associate degree online and found that I truly thrived in that learning format, especially while balancing life as a wife and mother,” she said.
Roca knew she wanted to continue her college education by earning a bachelor’s degree — and she discovered Lipscomb’s online program.
“When I learned about Lipscomb and its values, I knew immediately it was the right fit for me,” Roca said. “My experience at Lipscomb has been wonderful. Every professor I’ve had has been supportive, encouraging and deeply invested in my success. They have helped me believe that I am not ‘too late’ to finish my education and pursue what has always been in my heart; becoming a therapist.”
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue my education at Lipscomb and for the support I have received along the way,” she said. “This journey has reaffirmed my calling to serve families and couples with compassion, faith and hope.”
And she does not plan on stopping there.
“My long-term goal is to pursue the master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at Lipscomb,” she said. “I also believe a Ph.D. may be in my future, as I desire to become a therapist who contributes meaningful research on how couples can build healthy, lasting and fulfilling marriages.”
Learn more about Lipscomb Online’s undergraduate degree program in psychology.