Groton — Of all the sandwich shops in all the towns in all the world, she walked into this one.

And hasn’t left for 33 years.

This is the story of Pam Bogan: the face of D’Angelo’s Sandwich Shop on Long Hill Road. Mother of four. About to become a college graduate at 50. Welcoming demeanor to all customers. Singer Helen Reddy’s ideal: she is strong, she is invincible. And she has done it all — raised the kids, went back to school, navigated life — amid the grinder rolls and salami of D’Angelo’s for three decades.

Quite the Mother’s Day story.

“Well,” Bogan, a Westerly native and 1984 graduate of Stonington High School was saying recently, “a few weeks before I graduated from high school, I walked into D’Angelo’s to fill out an application. I’d never been there in my life. I started part time. In six months, I was managing and training people. But I had no idea I’d spend 33 years here.”

There is no explaining the “it” factor sometimes. But the “it” of D’Angelo’s just fit for Bogan, who has three families: her own, boss Gerry Becker and his family, and then all the customers who appreciate a smiling face and Rhoe-Dyelin accent.

“Overall, it worked well with my family life,” Bogan said. “Four kids. I’m very fortunate. I got to do everything with my kids, make a good living and still able to go to every wrestling meet, cheerleading meet, every event I could go to, along with parent/teacher conferences. Anything I had to be there for. That’s what won me over.”

Something, though, gnawed at Bogan as her children grew. There’s more. There’s got to be more. Look at the kids. They’re in college. What about her? Could she do it?

And at 44 years old, Bogan decided to enroll at Three Rivers Community College. She just completed her last course last week to become the family’s newest college graduate.

“It was the most frightening thing I ever did in my life,” Bogan said. “I’d been out of school for 25 years. Technology has changed a little. I was literally shaking when I went to apply. I’m a 44-year-old woman who hasn’t been to school in 25 years, just jumping into this. But that’s where my kids (they are between 21 and 29) were so supportive. If I got stuck on something, they were like, ‘Mom, can we help you?’ I taught them two plus two, so they could help me with algebra, right?”

This is where the comfort of D’Angelo’s helped. A flexible schedule. And so much support.

“You don’t find many like Pam anymore,” said Becker, the owner of the Groton D’Angelo’s. “We couldn’t live without her here. The hardest working person I ever worked with. We are like brother and sister. We try to work around everyone’s schedule. As much as that helped with Pam going back to school, I think Pam worked pretty hard at it, too. None of us are surprised she’s been so successful.”

Bogan said her divorce — not her favorite topic, admittedly — was the catalyst in developing The New Pam.

“I don’t want to throw my divorce out there, but it gave me a lot of (guts),” Bogan said. “I was Pam. I was Mom. I was a wife. I was an employee. Many hats. I kind of lost myself in all of that. When I got divorced, I thought, ‘I’m gonna just go do my thing.’ If I didn’t have this job, I don’t know where I would be trying to make it on my own now. It’s kind of empowering to be a woman and go back to school.”

And it also answers the question about “only” working in a sandwich shop. Bogan’s heard that one a lot.

“A few years ago, this lady came in. I’d seen her frequently over the years,” Bogan said. “She said, ‘Can I ask you a question? Why do you still work here? You can be so much more.’ I said, ‘This job bought me a house, now two. It fed my kids. It was my livelihood. It’s something I’m good at. My customers are loyal. We make friends with people.’”

Then Bogan paused and said, “Don’t get me wrong, I have frustrating days. But overall, it’s given me everything I want. They’re my family. My boss and his brothers are my brothers. Many times I thought about leaving. But it’s home. It’s like running a household: Making sure things are clean and people are fed.”

Bogan studied business at Three Rivers. She’s thinking about perhaps buying into the franchise. Or maybe just admiring the diploma on the wall in her new house. The one D’Angelo’s paid for.

Life is good.

“It took me six years,” Bogan said of her college journey. “Two classes per semester. But I stuck with school because I had to do it for myself. And show my kids what you can do.”