Parents often tell their children that they can do anything.

But when Aliya Small walks across the stage during the College of Liberal Arts' diploma ceremony on May 17, she’ll be showing her four children — Rabia, 11; Saeedah, 7; Jalal, 5; and Maleehah, 3 — that she knows what she’s talking about.

Small, 30, will receive her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice four kids, 11 years and a full-time job after she started it. It’s a big moment for her, as well as a lesson for her kids, she said.

“The road of life has stumbling blocks,” Small said. “I wanted to show them that no matter what the stumbling blocks are, you can get past them.”

Small’s intention was to get her degree in four years when she began taking classes at Community College of Philadelphia at 18. However, the news that Rabia was on the way complicated things.

The news also served as an incentive, Small said.

“My first child was an inspiration for me to continue,” she said. “I knew that I had someone who depended on me to be available for them not only physically and emotionally, but also financially.”

Trying to juggle a job as a counselor at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, family and school has been far from easy, Small admitted. When you’re on your own, you have to try to maintain a balance as much as possible, but even then, sometimes things overlap, she said.

“It’s extremely hard,” Small said. “Because no one negotiates with me, I have to try and wear all three hats the best that I can. Sometimes, I do have to take from one over to the other.”

Now that she’s finally about to graduate, Small is thinking about her future. She wants to open up a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for women who have just come out of prison and plans to take the Law School Admissions Test in June.

But first, a moment that Small and her kids have been waiting for.

“I really want them to see me graduate,” she said. “They’re really excited about it.”