69-Year-Old Panther Overcomes Adversities, on Track to Graduate

Cheryl Gomez has fought through workplace sexual harassment, homelessness, substance abuse and mental illness.

Any one of those things could have scared another person away from pursuing a college education.

But Gomez is not one of those people. She’s graduating in May with an associate’s degree in film, television and electronic media, as well as a certificate in screenwriting. Gomez will be one of, if not the oldest, member of the class of 2024.

And she wants to turn her adversities into a story to share with others in movies.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “I’m so proud of myself. I’m happy because behind a lot of the pain that I experienced, I got up, brushed myself off and kept going. I kept telling myself, ‘I can do this.’”

Gomez, author of the 1993 book “When No Means No,” won a $1.2 million settlement in a sexual harassment case against the Detroit Police Department in 1987. The former police officer faced racially-charged death threats by fellow officers, and when she complained to her commanding officer, he agreed to help, but only if she slept with him.

She has since been on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King as an expert on sexual harassment. She has lectured at Harvard, Yale and Duke universities on the topic.

But she continued to face challenges despite her victory in court.

Post-traumatic stress disorder haunted her, and alcoholism eventually led her to a rehabilitation center in 2009. When she got out, she found herself without a place to live, so she slept in her car for a while and eventually checked into a women’s shelter.

“When I laid on a mat that night, I decided to go back to school,” she said.

Her routine was simple: go to Starbucks in the morning to wash up in the restroom, and then go to class at Chaffey College.

Gomez said her greatest challenge of returning to school at her age was not interacting with much younger classmates. It was technology.

“Canvas beat my butt,” she said. “I’m from the baby-boomer generation, and we are not tech savvy.”

She says she enjoys working with younger people in class.

“The kids love me because I share history and stories with them. I get a lot of help from the young adults,” she said.

Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies Jose Zamora called Gomez one of his hardest-working students.

“She has overcome a multitude of obstacles to get to where she is now. I believe that she is what we want to see out of our students, and I believe that she deserves to be recognized,” he said.

Health issues, pursuing custody of her granddaughter and the death of her father forced her to put her education on hold several times, but she returned in 2022 for good. She says her entire family and friends plan to see her when she graduates.

Gomez has been working with her daughter, Reagan Gomez-Preston, to develop a screenplay about her life. Gomez-Preston has been a professional actress, writer and producer for 30 years, appearing in shows such as “The Parent ‘Hood” and the FOX animated comedy “The Cleveland Show.”

Gomez says she has been approached for movie rights already. She also plans to continue her education and earn a bachelor’s degree in film and screenwriting.

She hopes her story will inspire younger people to work through their own challenges to finish school. She is especially proud as an Afro-Latina to share her success with others.

“I’m showing the younger generations that you’re never too old to go after a dream,” Gomez said. “Anything is possible.”