A Degree Without Putting Life on Hold: How Para to Pro Helped Tyrice Whitaker Become a Teacher

Through Lincoln University’s Para to Pro program, Columbia native Tyrice Whitaker overcame financial barriers to earn his teaching degree and pursue his dream of becoming an educator.

Tyrice Whitaker has been drawn to teaching for as long as he can remember. In sixth grade, he crossed over from his school to a nearby elementary school to read to younger kids, and he loved it. At Hickman High School, he served as a senior mentor, helping younger students keep their grades in order. When he thinks about the educators who shaped his own life, becoming a teacher feels like a way to continue that tradition.

But wanting to teach and being able to afford the path to get there are two different things.

For four years, Whitaker worked as a classroom aide at New Haven Elementary in Columbia. To make ends meet, he also worked at Walmart. Going back to college to finish his teaching degree felt out of reach.

"I didn't know how I was going to pay for school or how anything was going to work," he said. "I never thought I was going to go back."

Whitaker was not starting from scratch. He had already earned an associate of arts degree from Moberly Area Community College at its Parkade Plaza campus in Columbia, studying there from 2018 to 2021. The pandemic stretched things out, canceling some of his classes and adding a semester to his timeline. After finishing, he stepped away from school for a few years to sort out his next move.

The path back opened up by chance. During his community college days, Whitaker walked past an information table at Parkade Plaza on his way to class each day, staffed by an advisor from Columbia College. They got to talking. He told her about his career goals and what he wanted to accomplish. After hearing him out, she pointed him toward Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City and encouraged him to reach out to Ayanna Shivers about the university’s Para to Pro program.

That conversation set his future teaching career in motion. Shivers, then the Para to Pro coordinator and the founder of the program, was honest that the accelerated program would be fast-paced, but she reassured him it was manageable and pointed him toward the help available at Lincoln.

Para to Pro is an online teacher certification pathway built for paraeducators. It gives classroom aides, teaching assistants, and substitutes an affordable, structured way to earn a bachelor's degree in elementary or special education, all while continuing to work in their current school jobs.

Whitaker completed the accelerated program in five semesters, beginning classes in June 2024 and graduating on December 14, 2025. This fall of 2026, he starts his first year as a third-grade teacher at Shepard Boulevard Elementary in Columbia Public Schools.

"Without this fast-paced program, I would have never gone back to college," Whitaker said. "It only took me a year and a half to earn my degree."

That flexibility is the point. Para to Pro is designed for working adults who can't afford to quit their jobs or rearrange their lives to sit in a traditional classroom.

"I liked how I didn't have to change my life. I was able to work and do homework at night," Whitaker said. "This program is tailored to the working class and people with busy lives."

The journey came with challenges and rewards. Whitaker recalls taking five classes that first summer. He got through it by breaking the work into daily chunks, leaning on classmates, and going to Shivers whenever he needed help. With her guidance, he found enough scholarships to pay as he went, graduating debt-free.

Now, Whitaker is giving back to the community that invested in him. He grew up in Columbia and attended its public schools himself. Now he returns to the district that raised him, this time at the front of the classroom.

"I want everybody to feel that they have a voice," he said. "I want them to feel understood, but I also want there to be order in the classroom."

His advice for other paraprofessionals who think a degree is out of reach? "Trust the process. It's better to get it done now than to wait later."

Interested in the Para to Pro program? Email Para to Pro Coordinator Brianna Fankhauser, Ed.D., at FankhauserB@LincolnU.edu for more information.