From GED to Cambridge: How Montgomery College Helped Launch Nick Tracy's Remarkable Journey

When Nick Tracy enrolled at Montgomery College, he was not sure what to expect—or what to expect from himself in a traditional academic setting.

He attended public school only through third grade, and after his mother’s health declined, homeschooling became difficult to sustain.

“Before college, I was almost entirely self-educated,” explained Tracy, who had earned his GED before considering higher education. “I turned to the internet to learn and connect with people, so when I enrolled at Montgomery College, I really didn’t know how I would do in a traditional classroom. MC was where I discovered that I could succeed academically and began to see opportunities I hadn’t imagined for myself.”

The Montgomery College alumnus and Georgetown University graduate is preparing to attend the University of Cambridge this fall, where his graduate studies will explore trust and authenticity online, misinformation and the impact of an increasingly AI-driven internet.

Tracy started college in spring 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed education online. For a student accustomed to teaching himself through a screen, the sudden transition was familiar territory.

His comfort and confidence within formal educational settings also began to grow at MC. Its diverse community exposed him to classmates whose experiences and ambitions reshaped what he believed was possible for himself.

“Nick is deeply thoughtful and unfailingly generous,” said Esther Schwartz-McKinzie, literature program coordinator in Montgomery College’s English and Reading Department, who taught Tracy in the Renaissance Scholars Honors Program. “Even early in his time at MC, he stood out for his intellectual curiosity and the sophistication of his work. He was the kind of learner who set the bar and helped others reach it. It has been a joy to see him build on the academic foundation he developed here, take on new challenges and continue to excel.”

That confidence translated into achievement. Tracy graduated from MC with a 4.0 GPA and an associate’s degree in general studies, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. Along the way, he interned at the Library of Congress, presented research at the Beacon Honors Conference and worked at Montgomery College’s literary journal, Potomac Review, first as an intern and later as a volunteer associate editor. He also participated in the inaugural cohort of MC LEADS, a program that prepares students to become leaders in social change. In 2021, he was selected for the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship—one of only 72 students nationwide selected that year, and Montgomery College’s 15th recipient of the award.

The scholarship helped Tracy continue his education at Georgetown University after also earning admission to Cornell University and Columbia University.

At Georgetown, he again encountered an unfamiliar environment as a first-generation, low-income, nontraditional student and one of only 50 transfer students accepted that year, all while commuting two hours each way from home. But he found community through the Georgetown Scholars Program, and he credits his family’s support with helping him succeed.

Reflecting his personal experience, his academic interests increasingly brought technology, education and society together. Tracy worked as a project assistant at Georgetown’s Edunomics Lab, contributing to education finance policy research and strengthening his quantitative research skills. He also studied abroad at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, with support from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, his first experience traveling outside the United States.

“The internet and technology were vital to my development because they gave me access to education and connections I otherwise wouldn’t have had,” Tracy reflected. “That experience is a big part of why I’m interested in how technology shapes education and society, and how we can use it ethically while making sure those opportunities are accessible to everyone.”

He graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown with a major in government, a film and media studies minor and an education finance certificate. He also completed a short film, Arcana, which he wrote, directed, acted in and edited for Georgetown’s film & media studies capstone showcase.

Earlier this year, another Jack Kent Cooke award propelled him toward his next chapter. Tracy was selected as a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholar, which provides up to $75,000 toward graduate study. His destination is the University of Cambridge and its digital humanities master’s program.

For Tracy, Cambridge represents more than just another prestigious institution on an already impressive academic résumé. His research interests reach back to the circumstances that formed him as a learner.

The internet once gave a teenager without a conventional educational experience access to knowledge and opportunities that otherwise might have seemed impossibly distant. Today, the same digital environment is being transformed by artificial intelligence, misinformation and increasingly sophisticated synthetic content. Tracy wants to better understand what that transformation means for the people who depend on it.

And the path that will take him to Cambridge can be traced through Montgomery College—where a largely self-taught student first learned that he belonged in a college classroom and began imagining just how far an education could take him.

“Before I enrolled in college, so many opportunities seemed out of reach,” Tracy said. “My experience taught me to take advantage of the opportunities in front of you and never assume something is beyond what you can achieve.”