Pursuing an associate degree felt like a struggle for Loren Nelson.
Balancing a career with life as a single mom was difficult enough without classes and exams.
It took time, but she persevered. She transferred to The University of Baltimore where she felt rejuvenated from the fresh start. It ended up being the spark she needed.
Loren finished her bachelor’s degree and moved right into a master’s program. When she completed that, she had already launched a nonprofit and still wasn’t finished.
Now Loren is working toward a Doctor of Public Administration at UBalt while scaling her nonprofit in pursuit of supporting those in a similar place as she was not long ago.
“I didn't know who I was outside of being a mom, and school became my thing; it was something for me,” Loren said. “This is an opportunity for me to figure out who I am as an individual and what impact I want to leave on the world and on society.”
She wants to focus her dissertation on the intersection of support for and empowerment of young and single mothers in urban communities.
The idea roots to a mission that’s been on Loren’s mind for years.
She recalled spending hours searching for resources to support her son while she took college courses to better her position.
“My goal is really based on my lived experience,” she said. “I’ve benefited a lot, but I’ve also found that it’s hard finding resources. You don’t know what you don’t know, and having multiple things going on at one time—trying to make sure that I can go to work and my kid can go to school and extracurricular activities, and a social life—it’s a lot.”
Her passion and her experiences collided during a grant writing class she took as part of UBalt’s B.A. in Human Services Administration program. She had to support an existing nonprofit or make her own, and so she chose the latter.
“From that class, I was able to leave with actual material that I’ve developed into my own nonprofit, The Glow Forward Foundation, which serves young and single moms in the Baltimore area,” Loren said. “My goal is to really support those young and single moms, and I’ve been able to do that with the support of UBalt.”
In 2021, Loren graduated with her bachelor’s degree and made the first public announcement of her nonprofit during her commencement speech. She held the first Glow Forward event in 2021. It was small, she said looking back, but significant as a salute to everything she had worked toward and everything yet to come.
“I want young and single moms to know that their dreams are possible,” Loren said. “That your life may look a certain way, but it doesn’t mean that it has to continue on that path.”
Building on the momentum of her vision, Loren decided to enroll in UBalt’s M.S. in Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship.
At the encouragement of her adviser, Dr. Dawnsha Mushonga, Loren applied for and was accepted to the University System of Maryland Langenberg Legacy Program's second cohort. The program encourages student fellows to implement “micro-level civic engagement projects that speak to macro-level issues.”
It became the opportunity she needed to scale her foundation. Because of the fellowship, she was able to pool resources and support and build connections that still fuel her nonprofit now.
In fall 2023, she earned 501(c)3 status for GlowForward. Loren graduated with her master’s degree the following May.
Loren reached another milestone moment for her foundation when she secured funding to offer college scholarships.
She runs her nonprofit considering what helped her journey. Loren received financial support through the Featherstone Foundation, which offers competitive scholarships for outstanding students facing economic challenges.
Loren wanted to help single moms who, like her, were performing well academically and involved in their communities, but just falling short.
I feel very fortunate to be part of the UBalt community where people know me, I know people, I’ve had opportunities to be involved and really get to tell my story. I just feel that it’s really helped me to solidify who I am and has given me room to grow.
In fall 2025, her foundation awarded 10 scholarships to young moms ages 24 and younger and single moms in Baltimore of $1,500 each for tuition, plus $500 stipends for their children’s educational expenses. Nine of the recipients are UBalt students.
Loren plans to make the scholarship program annual. In fall 2025, she hosted her foundation’s inaugural gala to raise funds for future scholarships and programming, and she’s already secured funding to support more scholars this year.
She is proud of how much she’s accomplished in her foundation’s first four years. The scholarships are a great source of her pride, but she can’t stop smiling when she talks about the community she’s been building, too.
Every month, Loren hosts a moms meet up. Themes range from fun and light-hearted, such as a Friendsgiving and bouquet making, to academic, such as financial literacy and entrepreneurship. Every meet up includes free childcare. Sometimes teens of the participating moms even volunteer in different ways.
The initial group of anxious and quiet strangers has developed to create friendships and mentorships.
“Now I see people buddied up on social media connecting, like, ‘Hey, my kid has these clothes that he grew out of. Can your kid use them?’” Loren said. … “That's the whole purpose of us—trying to build that community of support so that people know they have an extension of family.”
As a doctoral student, Loren has been able to use research she’s done for her program to raise her nonprofit to another level. She’s already found an opportunity to potentially present her research at a conference—an idea encouraged by her professor.
Loren said she has felt well supported by the faculty and dean’s office with every degree pursuit. She would love to even teach at UBalt eventually, she said.
“I feel very fortunate to be part of the UBalt community where people know me, I know people, I’ve had opportunities to be involved and really get to tell my story,” Loren said. “I just feel that it’s really helped me to solidify who I am and has given me room to grow.”