Amid cancer treatment, Lowell native finishes master’s degree in secret

Amid cancer treatment, Lowell native finishes master’s degree in secret

LOWELL — When Patti Laurent started working toward her master’s degree through Southern New Hampshire University in 2023, she did so mostly in secret. Laurent, 53, grew up in Lowell’s Highlands neighborhood, and now lives in Nashua, New Hampshire. She had thought for a long time about going for another degree after completing her bachelor’s in the 1990s, and like many she put it off for years as “life happens.” After being temporarily laid off f…