Makeba Giles (left) is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communication at UMSL, while her daughter, Tanys Giles, is working toward a master’s degree in social work. Tanys previously graduated from UMSL with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Her experience at the university inspired her mother to go back to school. (Photo courtesy of Tanys Giles)

For the past several years, Makeba Giles has been ready at every turn to help her children, Michael Dunlap and Tanys Giles, as they’ve worked toward degrees at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She’s been there to offer a ride to campus, send an encouraging text message or create an inspirational study playlist.

This fall, she’s ready to see UMSL from a new perspective.

“I’m happy to not only be a Triton mom, but now I’m happy to be a Triton student,” she said with a laugh.

Makeba – the founder of Faith Health & Home, a website and online community focused on the physical and spiritual health of families – is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communication at UMSL. But she won’t be taking on this new challenge alone. Her daughter will be right alongside her. Tanys, who graduated from UMSL in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in child advocacy studies, has returned to the university to earn her MSW.

The pair said it feels special to embark on this journey together, and Tanys added that it’s been nice to have someone so close to empathize with during the first few weeks of the school year.

“It is very helpful,” Tanys said. “I text her all the time. I blow her phone up, all day, every day. It’s really nice having that balance because, even in my bachelor’s program, she was very supportive. But now it’s really interesting to see that she can also see where I’m coming from in terms of assignments. Now, we can both go back and forth on the things that she’s doing well in her classes and things I’m doing well in my classes.”

Makeba is excited to begin the communication program, although she has plenty of practical experience in the field. She worked in corporate customer service for 15 years before her employer eliminated her position in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

“Once my job ended, that’s when I really started thinking, ‘OK, do I really want to go back to corporate America? Or do I want to do something with the skills I’ve obtained over these 15 years and apply them to something that I really, really want to do?’” she said. “That led me to launch my own website and my own business online in 2011.”

Since then, Makeba has built Faith Health & Home into a thriving online community and a resource for expert advice on healthy, positive living. The endeavor has led to opportunities she never imagined. She’s interviewed some of the country’s top health care experts as well as celebrities including Mary J. Blige, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Dominique Wilkins.

“My favorite was Soleil Moon Frye,” she said. “She’s an actress who people of my age and older would have known as Punky Brewster.”

Faith Health & Home has opened other doors, too. Makeba has served as a Go Red Blogger Ambassador for the St. Louis chapter of the American Heart Association for the past decade, and she’s traveled the country speaking at events hosted by prominent corporations such as Coca-Cola and Ford. She’s also been a member of the Aspen Institute’s Parent Advisory Panel, which is part of the organization’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development.

The experience with the Aspen Institute in particular spurred Makeba to start thinking more about returning to school. She had previously enrolled in a communication program around 2004 at another local university but had to withdraw from classes due to illness. In 2011, she earned an associate degree in communication from the University of Phoenix.

Recently, circumstances aligned, making enrollment in an undergraduate program possible.

“I have always loved academic writing, loved academic communication, loved professional communication, loved professional writing,” she said. “I had to unlearn that just a smidgen to adapt to the online world. So, I am super excited to get back to the academic and professional side of communication.”

After witnessing her children’s personal and professional growth at UMSL, she knew it was the only choice for her own education.

Dunlap graduated from UMSL in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and was highly involved on campus during his time at the university. He served as president of the National Society of Leadership and Success and as a campus tour guide. His experience was a key factor in Tanys’ decision to attend UMSL.

“He spoke very highly of UMSL,” she said. “I started during COVID, so a lot of the classes were very flexible.”

Starting college during the onset of a pandemic wasn’t always easy, but Tanys was undeterred. Plus, Makeba was by her side “in the trenches” to support her during that time. Not to be outdone by her brother, Tanys also threw herself into campus life.

She served as the president of the Associated Black Collegians and was a member of several clubs and organizations, including the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Psychology Club. She was also part of the Pierre Laclede Honors College and worked at the Recreation and Wellness Center.

After graduation, Tanys began working as a therapeutic teacher at FamilyForward, a nonprofit that delivers comprehensive therapeutic and educational services to children affected by trauma. Two of her coworkers happened to be UMSL MSW graduates.

“They were the ones who convinced me to switch over to social work and then to go back to UMSL to get my social work degree, because they said the program was great,” she said. “They just talked so highly of the program at UMSL.”

Both mother and daughter are adjusting to being back in the classroom. Makeba is taking her courses online and learning new technologies – a process that has made her feel a little bit like a “fish out of water.” Meanwhile, Tanys is balancing the responsibilities of work and school.

“It’s been a learning curve because I’m working full-time as a case manager, plus having to go to school at night,” Tanys said. “Also, I have to do three practicums, so essentially, I’ll be working this job plus working at a different job, getting my hours. So, it’s a big learning curve.”

However, Makeba is confident UMSL provides the environment necessary for success.

“I can tell you firsthand, just seeing how inviting, how much of a family and how close-knit the community is on the UMSL campus, that helped my son a lot,” she said. “It helped him to graduate with his bachelor’s, and the same thing with Tanys. I’m totally sure that’s what helped her get through the bachelor’s degree, and it will definitely help her get through the master’s degree.”

Makeba added that there’s one thing she knows will help her get through the communication program – her daughter.

“I have to keep going because she’s looking at me,” she said. “She’s watching me, and I want to motivate her. It’s really from the heart. I want to make her proud of me. I want to be the inspiration to keep going for her that she is for me.”