Erin Hirschkorn
Erin Hirschkorn has a philosophy — don’t let little things stop your dreams. In Hirschkorn’s case, the “little things” were restarting college as an adult and a life-changing cancer diagnosis. Now a cum laude business graduate enrolled in an MBA program, Hirschkorn won the Craig School of Business 2024 Inspiration Award.
The Inspiration Award is given each year to the Craig School graduating senior who has overcome significant challenges and difficulties in pursuit of a college degree. Facing a health challenge that would force many students to drop out, Hirschkorn stayed committed to her education while keeping a positive, can-do attitude. The Craig School commencement ceremony is from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 17, at the Save Mart Center.
Hirschkorn took a long break from college, which made completing her education that much more important to her. She attended Fresno City College after graduating from Kerman High School in 2001, but, she said, “It just wasn’t right for me then, so I took some time off from education and went out into the actual work world.”
Hirschkorn got the opportunity to resume her education in 2015 when her employer, Church & Dwight, offered to reimburse her college expenses. Hirschkorn enrolled at Madera Community College and did well there, but just as she was about to transfer to Fresno State, in 2019, Hirschkorn was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“It was pretty much like stage zero. It was going to be a lumpectomy. And I was going to go on living my life, no problem,” Hirschkorn said. “But then I got my genes tested. It turned out I have a gene mutation that gives me a higher chance of developing other cancers, and the plan of just having the lumpectomy turned into, ‘You need a double mastectomy.'”
For a while, Hirschkorn felt like life was throwing everything at her all at once. She faced cancer treatment and surgery — “I spent all of 2020 in and out of hospitals,” she said — and she was starting the Accelerated Bachelor’s of Business Administration (ABBA) program at Fresno State. She and her boyfriend (now husband) had just moved into a new apartment.
And to top it all off, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world. Classified as an essential worker, Hirschkorn didn’t have the respite of working from home.
Despite everything, Hirschkorn stubbornly kept to her educational goals. The silver lining of the pandemic was that online classes made it easier for her to juggle college, work and medical appointments. Best of all, the challenges of a demanding academic program kept her focused, distracted from her troubles and gave her a whole new support group.
“I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I hadn’t had school to focus on, and if I hadn’t had my ABBA cohort,” Hirschkorn said. “I’ve made some really great friends, and I had someone to rely on anytime there was a health scare.”
The Accelerated Bachelor’s of Business Administration is a cohort-based program in which each group of students takes the same classes together. Hirschkorn said her cohort was a major support for her health and her education. She liked the experience so much she is now enrolled in the MBA for Executives, another cohort-based program.
“You make so many friends and you build so many relationships in your cohort, because you’re all in the weeds together,” Hirschkorn said.
Hirschkorn is now successfully managing her health, she is achieving new levels of responsibility and she recently got married. Earning her bachelor’s degree has given her new confidence, intellectually and professionally.
“Coming back to school as an adult has been rediscovering the little girl I used to be who got straight A’s and was a bookworm, when I thought she was lost forever,” Hirschkorn said. “I feel so much more confident when I go to work now, and I feel excited about meeting and working with upper management. That confidence is one of the most important things I took from Fresno State.”
Hirschkorn is now looking at how she can use her education to help others. “Who can I help with my education? Could I start a nonprofit for breast cancer survivors or for people living with genetic conditions? I also want to model that it’s never too late to go back to school to improve yourself and pursue your dreams. Whatever your dream is, go for it. It might be hard, and it might be a struggle, but, in the end, it’ll be worth it and you’ll be a better person for doing it.”
