Miley Sparrow of Villa Park, a single mom of five, put herself through law school

The day after Mary Sparrow finished her bar exams, a crew from NBC's "Today Show" came to her Villa Park home to film her for a segment on three inspirational women over 50.

The single mother of five, known to everyone as Miley, had completed her bachelor's degree and gone to law school while holding down a full-time job waitressing.

"I think there's nothing you can't do. I think if you want to do it, you should go ahead and do it. Don't let anything stop you," Sparrow said.

Since the segment aired on Aug. 8, Sparrow, now 54, has heard from one viewer who said she'd thought about going to law school and now was going to move ahead on that. Sparrow hears from other people who know her from her full-time job at Adelle's restaurant in Wheaton, where she's worked six years and continues to work while she looks for a job in the law field.

"I still get comments," she said. "Every night at work, somebody gets up to ask me how it's going."

With the restaurant's location on Liberty Drive in Wheaton, Adelle's has among its customers many lawyers and judges who have made a point of encouraging her, Sparrow said. One customer arranged for her to receive two $5,000 scholarships through his company.

Inspiration to others

Inspired by her example, two other servers at Adelle's have gone back to school. John Dixon, who like Sparrow is over 50, said he's earned a second bachelor's in psychology and is working on a master's in addiction counseling. He's recently taken a part-time job at the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans in Wheaton.

"She's got kids; I have no excuse not to do it," Dixon said. "If you're over 50, there's no reason you can't (start) a new career."

Sparrow said she's always been a driven person, but her early ambition was to become a rock star and she spent 18 years singing in bands. But when she found herself divorced with small children, she went back to school, earned an associate degree in court reporting and discovered she enjoyed the law classes that were part of the program.

With her children still small, however, she found it too hard to continue to take the classes she needed to be a court reporter and put further schooling on hold.

When her youngest son turned 9, Sparrow decided it was time to continue her education. She returned to school in 2009 and finished her bachelor's degree the next year. By fall 2011, she had enrolled in John Marshall Law School.

She completed her law classes in May and took the bar exams in July. After recently learning she didn't pass the exams, she admitted to being upset, but has by no means given up.

"I have to take them again in February," she said.

Today Show

While Sparrow was preparing for the July exams, she took a break from studying to look at the "Today Show" website. Viewers were invited to write what they did when they turned 50 and Sparrow decided to tell how she went back to school to study for a law degree.

"I clicked out of that and never thought of it again," she said.

Sparrow was so busy studying, she missed the show's attempts to get in touch with her until representatives contacted her employer. The show's crew came to film on a Thursday in July, after she finished taking her bar exams on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"It was fun," Sparrow said of the experience. "As soon as they came in, they were so unassuming, so kind. They put you at ease right away."

The "Today Show" crew spent six hours with her, filming her studying at her dining room table, playing a game with her kids and going with her over to Adelle's. The day the show aired, Sparrow was working in the restaurant that night.

"Did I just see you on the 'Today Show?'" customers asked.

While Sparrow prepares to take the exams again, she's busy spending out resumes. She's interested in a career in elder law, but open to what comes.

"We've always struggled, as you can imagine, mother of five raising kids on her own, waitressing," she said. "I did it for a lot of reasons, my own interest and hopefully sometime to give us a little more breathing room, less stress."

Her children are now 14, 19, 20, 22 and 37. Sparrow said she had their support - as well as that of other members of her family, her employer, co-workers and customers - in going back to school.

Although her 22-year-old daughter, who often drove Sparrow to early morning classes in downtown Chicago, is convinced that she doesn't want to go to law school, she's taking classes in things that interest her, Sparrow said. The 19- and 20-year-old are full-time college students.

"I'm motivated by the kids and I'm motivated by my own drive to be everything I was meant to be," Sparrow said.

Sparrow said she's always been an optimistic person and hopes her story encourages others.

"I want single mothers to know that they're still capable and able to go out and pursue their dreams and better their lives and the lives of their children," she said.