Dominique Wesley learned what it meant to be a superwoman the same way many of us do: by watching her mother. Growing up in St. Louis as the youngest of four children, she observed her mom juggle long nursing shifts, home life, and eventually a divorce from Dominique’s pharmacist father.
From an early age, Dominique absorbed those lessons quietly: watching, learning, and internalizing what strength looked like in real time. Even then, she knew she would one day become a superwoman herself and that health care was the way to do it.
Like all superheroes, Dominique began to recognize and harness the abilities she already had.
“I grew into a woman of being,” she proclaims. “I’m always going to be an empathetic person — always someone who helps people and doesn’t expect anything in return. Giving back has always been my motto, because to me, that’s rewarding.”
Empathy became one of her defining strengths. Commitment became another.
Choosing Responsibility Over the Expected Path
Dominique married her high school sweetheart and remained in Missouri, rooted in the place that shaped her. After graduating high school, she made a decision that reflected sacrifice and responsibility: choosing not to pursue her bachelor’s degree immediately so she could stay home and support her sister, who was battling depression while raising children of her own.
Relying on the alter ego she developed from watching her mother, Dominique holds herself to the same unspoken standard she grew up with: always be ready.
“Always be at the forefront,” she advises. “Be ready to move and save the day.”
Work deadlines, coursework, parent-teacher meetings, family obligations — Dominique has a lot to show up for. She channels her superwoman energy daily, often without pause, balancing competing responsibilities with intention and resolve.
Like all superheroes, there are moments that threaten to define you.
Recently, Dominique experienced profound loss: the death of her step daughter in a car accident, followed closely by the passing of her uncle. Grief became another weight to carry alongside her responsibilities.
“It’s been a lot,” she admits. “But we continue to grow. Spiritually, we continue to seek guidance. There’s going to be therapy involved. That’s really what it is.”
There were moments during this period when Dominique questioned how much more she could take on — moments where continuing her education felt uncertain. But stepping away was never truly an option. She had learned long ago that strength doesn’t mean avoiding hardship; it means moving through it.
Dominique’s approach to challenges has become one of her greatest strengths.
I feel like the way I get through challenges — and I’ve faced many — is by always looking ahead and believing they’re already overcome.
Rather than tackling everything at once, she breaks challenges into manageable pieces, asking herself what she can handle today.
“You don’t always have to face a challenge all at once,” she says. “Compartmentalizing helps me stay focused on the goal.”
That instinct — to repair, improve, and build — naturally led her back to education.
Finding Alignment at UAGC
From trade school to auditing at UnitedHealthcare, Dominique steadily built her career. Today, she works as a technical product manager while earning a master’s degree in information systems management at the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC).
“I chose this program because of a passion I’ve had since growing up,” she says. “I like to fix things.”
With trade school and a bachelor’s degree from another institution under her belt, Dominique knew what she needed next — and what she didn’t. She tried pursuing a master’s degree at a local university but eventually opted out.
“There was a point where I realized the program just wasn’t aligning with my life or my work,” she says. “I remember thinking, ‘Let me jump out on faith and see what I can do.’”
When her employer revealed its partnership with UAGC, Dominique connected with enrollment and immediately felt the difference.
“Reading the success stories, I could see that UAGC meets people where they are,” she says. “The university is intentional with everyone’s time.”
Now five months into her UAGC journey, Dominique feels aligned — between work, school, and life. She chose UAGC because it offered something her previous program had not: application.
In one course, she found herself applying frameworks from class directly to conversations at work, reinforcing her belief that learning should never exist in isolation.
It amazes me that every course I’ve taken thus far, I can take something away and apply it directly to my job. These courses resemble real-life experiences. That’s what UAGC gives you.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
When Dominique isn’t stepping into the superwoman role she’s spent years cultivating, she finds joy in reading, writing, and gardening. With her work and education fully remote, she’s beginning to imagine a future beyond Missouri, including the possibility of relocating to Baltimore, where one of her daughters plans to attend Howard University.
Dominique’s next steps are grounded in purpose. Her greatest goal is simple and unwavering: to be someone her children can look up to.
“I persevered through a lot,” she says. “A lot of us women have superpowers to do this. Pursuing this degree isn’t easy, but I remain focused and committed.”
The superwoman Dominique once watched navigate life with quiet strength is no longer just a memory from her childhood. She is living that legacy, leading with empathy and modeling resilience for the next generation.
The cape was never imaginary. It was learned. And now, it’s being passed on.