Growing up, my mother emphasized the importance of a college education. By the time I was about a year old, she was a single mother with little more than a high school diploma and no job skills. She worked as a secretary for a small glass company while putting herself through college, pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Education. I remember attending her graduation ceremony at Georgia State University. My eight-year old eyes filled up with pride as I watched her receive her diploma. It was from that moment, that our lives, and our way of living, began to change. Even though I was young, I was significantly aware of the impact her education had on our quality of life. It was because of the sacrifices and the difference she made single-handedly, that instilled in me an undying respect and appreciation for higher education. As I saw first-hand the undeniable difference of having an education, it became clear to me that it was a critical step in overcoming poverty.
By the time I was a teenager, I knew all there was to know about life, love, and the real world, just like every teenager before me. I met my husband when I was 17 years old and we were married with my first child before I was 20. Knowing that higher education was the key to success, I enrolled at the local community college and attempted to pursue a degree in elementary education. We lived in a small town in Tennessee, far from any of my family, and I had hoped to have the support of my husband and his nearby family while I attended school. I started out on my quest with some success, making straight A's in my classes and received an invitation to the Beta Club. After the second semester, my ability to attend classes began to falter as my support system progressively weakened. My husband accepted a job offer that required him to work out of town for weeks on end with little to no home time. His family began to waffle on their efforts to watch the one child we had that would afford me the opportunity to attend school.
