From Student to Success: Stories of Accomplishments from Adult Education Students

FROM STUDENT TO SUCCESS

STORIES OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM ADULT EDUCATION STUDENTS

“The Adult Education program at Northeast Mississippi Community College plays a crucial role in transforming the lives of its citizens by providing personalized attention to adult learners. Through this program, individuals can acquire new skills, start new careers, and ultimately experience life-changing opportunities. The dedication to individual growth and development that the Adult Education program offers is essential in shaping the future of the community and empowering its residents.

RICKY G. FORD, NEMCC PRESIDENT

MISSISSIPPI ADULT EDUCATION CHALLENGES

“

Education is not just preparation for being an adult but also a lifelong journey of growth and development. The mission of adult education is to bring out the best in all students by helping them master the most important skills for success. Whatever is needed to earn the High School Equivalency diploma, to be trained in locating that perfect job, or just to learn the skills to succeed at work, Adult Education is here to help all students move forward!

LAURIE KESLER, DIRECTOR OF ADULT EDUCATION

MISSISSIPPI ADULT EDUCATION PROGRESS

FROM STUDENT TO SUCCESS

STORIES OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM ADULT EDUCATION STUDENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 CHALLENGES

3 PROGRESS

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS

5 INTRODUCTION

6 DORA STRICKLIN

7 ROBIN EATON

8 LINDSEY PARKER

9 SHAREKA JUDON

10 TREVER COBB

11 JAIME AVILA

12 BRANDY NOBLES

13 GAGE JOHNSON

14 MARIAH WILLIAMS

15 MADISON RHODES

16 SEBASTIAN MEJIA

17 ABBIE MCLELLEN

18 CHRISTY SANDERS

19 JALISA ESTES

20 CHARLES AURORA

21 ANGIE SHAW

22 JORDAN MARLEY

23 BRENT JOHNSON

24 TAYLOR LEATHERS

25 VIVIAN JACKSON

26 NEMCC ADULT EDUCATION

27 ADULT EDUCATION STAFF

“ THE STORIES YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ ARE REAL.

AS REAL AS IT GETS.

CHARLIE SMART, COLLEGE & CAREER NAVIGATOR

INTRODUCTION:

The following collection of interviews feature the extraordinary stories of ordinary people, real people thrust into unreal situations, who have endured and persevered. They have taken what the world has thrown at them – difficult childhoods, lost jobs, lost children, lost homes – and made something from it. They didn’t just overcome it. They used it. These adult education students dealt with various obstacles and somehow come out better on the other side.

For Northeast Mississippi Community College graduate Dora Stricklin of Burnsville, it’s about getting back up one more time than she got knocked down.

Life has not always been kind to Stricklin, but through it all, she’s gotten back up.

She had to not only deal with the untimely passing of her grandmother, but she also had to deal with her father passing away from cancer on the first day of college classes. Her husband lost his job in the midst of her getting an education.

To say life has tried to knock Stricklin out would be an understatement.

But, for every time that she was knocked down, Stricklin got back up and on Friday, she completed the comeback of a lifetime when she walked across the stage in the Bonner Arnold Coliseum on the campus of Northeast Mississippi Community College with not one, not two, but three college degrees.

Dressed in her black graduation gown, Stricklin looked like any other college graduate, but the story of what she had to go through to earn her college education is the true definition of perseverance as she set an example to her four children.

DORA STRICKLIN

NEMCC ADULT ED GRADUATE EARNS 3 DEGREES

“It was important for me to be able to set that example for my children, and become the first person in my family to complete my education.”

“It was important for me to be able to set that example for my children, and become the first person in my family to complete my education.”

Stricklin grew up with six brothers, so she knows how to hold her own, but sometimes, that was tested.

“There were times where I just wanted to throw in the towel and he was my best supporter,” said Stricklin of her husband, Jay.

“He talked me into not quitting several times. I could not have done a lot of it without him.”

With Jay in her corner, Stricklin knew she could knock out whatever was put in front of her, and that included starting GED classes at Northeast in 2013.

When she began, Stricklin tested at a seventh-grade education level, but that did not stop her and soon she was on to her next round.

After obtaining a GED, Stricklin enrolled in the Pathways program at Northeast and at the time, the medical and business office pathway was one program that required a participant to master seven courses.

That didn’t stop Stricklin.

Stricklin knocked out the Pathways courses in no time and picked up an Internet Core Competency Certification that judges a student on digital literacy and a Microsoft Office Specialist certification before enrolling at Northeast as a college student.

However, one of her biggest fights lay ahead as she had to battle with the death of her father on the first day of college.

“That transition (from GED to college) was a really big transition, but it was exciting,” Stricklin said. “It was also a hard transition for me because the day I started, I lost my dad to cancer and I really thought that maybe I wasn’t going to get it, but it gave me something to focus on.”

Stricklin kept her focus and even when life tried to knock her back again with the death of her grandmother, she persevered.

“It would have been easy to quit, but I had kids looking and watching and I didn’t want to quit,” Stricklin said. “I didn’t want them to see that.”

What her four children saw on Friday night was the culmination of a comeback of a lifetime.

Stricklin walked across that stage to receive a business management technology degree, a computer technology degree and an administrative office technology degree.

Like a true champion, Stricklin has one more round left. She wants to tell her story of perseverance and will take the stage for the Northeast High School Equivalency/Workforce Readiness Ceremony on Monday night as a keynote speaker to tell her story.

“I want them to know that just because you walk out, you get knocked down and you quit ... it does not mean that it is over,” Stricklin said. “You can do it. I did it, so can you. I started out with a seventh-grade education and look at me, I am completing it with three degrees.”

NOTE:

Five months after this story ran, in October of 2019, Dora began teaching part-time in the very business pathway program she completed. In November 2023, she became a full-time employee of Northeast, serving students in the Continuing Education department. Her experience in continuing her own education has proven invaluable in guiding others to do the same.

ROBIN EATON

TURNING LOSS INTO LEARNING

“It’s sad that they’re gone, and it’s hard without them, but I learned a lot through those experiences. It really opened my eyes to see that life is short, and I want to be there to help people while I’m here.”

In the last 3 years, Robin Eaton has lost three people close to her her mother and father, as well as her grandfather, who helped raise her. From this heartbreaking experience, she started a new life – one they would be thrilled to see.

“They’d be proud of the fact that I’m not just constantly sad and grieving,” she says. “Of course, everybody grieves, but they’d be glad to know that I learned a lot and took some good things from the bad.”

This extraordinary mindset springs from Robin’s commitment to learning from everything – even tragedy. “It’s sad that they’re gone, and it’s hard without them, but I learned a lot through those experiences. It really opened my eyes to see that life is short, and I want to be there to help people while I’m here.”

All three family members ended up requiring hospice care, with Robin helping to care for each of them in the end. She felt able to endure such difficulty, ironically, in part, because of the encouragement of one of those she cared for. “My grandfather always wanted me to be in healthcare. He thought that I had the personality for it. He had a lot of health issues, so he went back and forth to the doctor a lot, and some of his favorite people were nurses and patient

care techs. He always thought that they were the nicest and the best people.”

Her formal education had ended years ago, in 8th grade of a homeschool program. Her grandmother had helped her through it as best she could, but, lacking educational training, could help her no further. Robin wound up in fast food, working her way up to management. She liked it, especially the interaction with customers, but felt more and more that her grandfather was right. She knew what she had to do take the first step, a high-schoolequivalency diploma.

It was a difficult challenge. More than 15 years had passed since she had done any formal study. Still she enrolled in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program. As her teacher at the time, Courtney Casabella, remembers it, “Robin walked into my classroom during lunch one day and told me she was ready to change her life. She told me that for various reasons she didn’t have her diploma and had been told by others it wasn’t worth it and she couldn’t achieve it. She was motivated but very unsure of herself.”

“I was afraid of failure,” Robin says. “I have 4 kids, and I was afraid of them seeing me fail.” Still, she tried, and succeeded, thanks in large part to her instructor. “She pushed

me and just kept telling me to never give up,” she says of Casabella. “I really don’t think I could have done it without her.”

What happened next was a transformation, or perhaps an unfolding of what was already there. “Not only did I get to witness Robin reach the milestone of getting her diploma,” says Casabella, “but what was most impressive to me was her grit and mindset shift. She’s highly motivated by her children and being an example for them, and it was so exciting to celebrate with her at each test passed.” As Robin’s confidence grew, so did her understanding of what it took to accomplish her goals. “I’ve learned that you’re going to have to fail to succeed,” she says, advice she now offers to others. “They’re going to fail along the way, but that’s part of success. Don’t be afraid of failure.”

After completing her diploma, Robin continued moving forward leaving her fast-food job, finding clinical work at a local hospital, completing Northeast’s EMT training program through the MIBEST program offered by Adult Education. Along with her children and the encouraging words of her late grandfather and her teacher, Robin draws on another, albeit unlikely, source for strength. “I am used to chaos, and I work well with chaos,” she says, a trait that served her well during

her emergency-management training. She recalls an exercise, a manual blood-pressure check, where she and her classmates were told that there would be lots of distractions when they tried to carry out the same task in the back of an ambulance. “At home, I was practicing on my husband, and my kids were running around, screaming, getting into everything. I feel like that’s how my life is, chaotic, but I can work through it.”

By embracing uncertainty, Robin has built resilience in her life. She has come to understand that the only way to learn is to take life as it comes, working with it, taking from it what she can. From dealing with death and loss, to raising children, to checking vital signs in a whirlwind of chaos, she embraces life –all of it –creating one success after another.

I’ve learned that you’re going to have to fail to succeed. “

Lindsey Parker didn’t finish high school. She wants to make sure her students do.

“I’m really enjoying it,” she says of her current experience student-teaching 9th graders at Booneville High School. “Every lesson that I create, I have fun creating it, I have fun teaching it, I have an amazing time receiving feedback. I love watching the students grow, and I love feeling like I’m a part of that in some way.”

For Lindsey, the spark that ignited her teaching career came at the store she and her husband co-own, Gleeb Games. “We have a lot of board games and card games – things that younger generations are interested in. Things that I was interested in when I was a teenager,” she says. “There was nothing like that in Corinth at the time, so when I was trying to figure out a way to keep my then-newborn daughter with me, I jokingly told my husband that we should start a gaming store. He looked at me as serious as he could be and said, ‘Well, let’s do it.’”

Initially, Lindsey enjoyed the freedom to take care of the couple’s daughter at work. This then morphed into helping other kids – the store’s customers. “I’ve gotten to see a lot of these younger kids

LINDSEY PARKER FROM STUDENT TO TEACHER

“It was important for me to be able to set that example for my children, and become the first person in my family to complete my education.”

turn into semi-adults – and adults, even – and watching them play these games and interact and grow up, along with me teaching them initially how to play a lot of this stuff, is what inspired me to go into English education,” she says. “That, and my love of literature.”

Ten years passed between the time

Lindsey withdrew from high school – spring semester of her senior year, after missing three weeks of school due to a car wreck – and her decision to earn her high-school-equivalency diploma with Northeast Mississippi Community College Adult Education. She was uneasy, but she found support. “The hardest step of any challenge or change is always that first step, because you don’t know what the process entails. So initially starting back was the hardest part for me, and I will always be eternally grateful [to Northeast],” says Lindsey, who also received support from MIBEST, the Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training program, and 2nd Chance Mississippi, a nonprofit dedicated to raising funds and awareness for Mississippi’s Adult Education programs.

“The people are so friendly and welcoming. They helped me through it, step by step. And it broke something

that could be complex into a series of minor steps so that you feel that you don’t have to run the whole mile. You can take it one step at a time.”

And now, having completed her HSE, finishing her practice teaching and her undergraduate career at the University of Mississippi, preparing to begin an MFA in Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women (“You are clearly a committed writer,” her acceptance note reads, “with a good sense of where you’d like to take your writing.”), Lindsey is focused, pondering the future and what it means to teach and practice writing. And why it’s important. “There is so much knowledge to be gained from reading the words on a piece of paper. I think it’s amazing what just 26 letters can do.”

“I’ve always been obsessed with literature,” she says. “There is so much between-the-line text in any sort of literature that you read. There is so much more to be gained than just [what’s on] the surface level.”

Lindsey is focused. She knows what success means to her; it’s “just trying to be better tomorrow than you were today.” She knows what she wants to do and why she wants to do it. And

she knows what she wants others to do, from her future students to those who, like her, did not finish high school. She says it best, as only a writer can:

No matter what you want to accomplish, do it. Because time doesn’t wait, and you’re not going to regret doing it, or attempting it; what you will regret is never taking that step in the first place. You’ll never know unless you try, and sometimes contentment can only be found by embarking on what makes you uncomfortable. Go for it. What do you have to lose?

SHAREKA JUDON PERSEVERING

FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

“I had given up for so many years. When I got in the program, the teachers kept me motivated. Every time I felt like I was giving up, they told me, ‘Shareka, you got this. You will do this. You will succeed.’ That kept me going. It helped me to see that I cannot give up.”

Shareka Judon had some great reasons for sticking it out and completing her high-school-equivalency diploma. Four of them, to be exact.

“Working full-time – and still being a mother.” This is how she describes the challenges she faced in completing her diploma through Northeast Mississippi Community College. How did she do it?

“I just put my mind to it,” she says. “There were a lot of late nights, falling asleep with the book in my hand. But I knew I had four babies at home watching me. Especially my girls who were older. They could understand.”

What they understood was, in part, that Shareka – who withdrew from high school in the 11th grade after learning she was pregnant with her oldest daughter – was struggling. They were watching her juggle a couple of important and allconsuming responsibilities.

First, there was the responsibility of motherhood. Shareka smiles more than most people, especially when discussing her children. While she is being interviewed, motherhood is the thing she mentions second-most often. And not just being there for her kids – but caring for them in ways most of us don’t have to worry about. That oldest daughter has

had four open-heart surgeries, beginning at two months old. The youngest child, her son, is autistic. (Shareka was unable to attend class in the first few weeks, due to frequent trips to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital.) Which leads to the other major responsibility her children watched her juggle work.

Shareka pursued her diploma with Northeast while working full-time as an assistant manager in a retail store. Not long after she earned her diploma, she had to leave her job. Her son had started school, which proved to be overwhelming for him. “There were lots of days when he went to school and had a meltdown, and I had to go get him,” she says. Work became impossible. One of her teachers, Shawn Davis, concurs. “She had some real challenges juggling everything. She went back and forth from day class to night class. I know it was hard for her.”

Again, motherhood is the thing she mentions second-most often while being interviewed. The thing she mentions most often is not giving up – and struggling not to give up. And that’s what her children really noticed, what they really understood. “I didn’t want them to say, ‘Well, mama didn’t stay in school, so we don’t care if we do,’” she says. “I wanted to be a good example for them, to let

them know to never give up. To keep trying. Success means putting your mind to it, being determined about it, and completing what you started.”

Davis remembers her mindset similarly. “Initially, she lacked confidence. But when she succeeded in a small task, it helped her. She just needed a boost.” Shareka concurs “I had given up for so many years. When I got in the program, the teachers kept me motivated. Every time I felt like I was giving up, they told me, ‘Shareka, you got this. You will do this. You will succeed.’ That kept me going. It helped me to see that I cannot give up.”

struggle, once again juggling the demands of school and family. But if the past holds true, she will ultimately be successful. “I think,” says Davis, “she’ll be able to do whatever she puts her mind to.” And the lives of her future patients will be much richer for it.

“

It would seem that, in fact, she does not have the capacity to give up, a trait she hopes to inspire in the patients she will eventually care for as a healthcare professional, her goal. “I see myself [in the future] in a doctor’s office, being successful at something I really love to do.” She wants to learn more about clinical care, she says, “for my daughter and my son. I want to know what I can do to help them.” And for those patients and their families, who will no doubt benefit from her compassion, borne of her own experiences. She has been there. She still is.

Shareka will begin working toward her degree this summer. She will of course

She had some real challenges juggling everything. She went back and forth from day class to night class. I know it was hard for her.

- SHAWN DAVIS NEMCC AE Instructor

”

For the last nine years, I have kept up with Trever Cobb sporadically, messaging him now and then. In 2015, he was my student and a participant in our youth job-training program, C2C (now Gateway). Back then, he was a thoughtful 17-year-old who played Trivia Crack on his phone in class, talked nonstop, and earned his highschool-equivalency diploma in a month.

That 17-year-old live wire is now a 26-year-old man with a wife, a son, three stepchildren, two jobs, and a plan to start a handyman business. He met with me recently, and we talked about his life, his approach to life, his goals — and the only kind of success that matters.

Seated at a table in the break room of Northeast Mississippi Community College’s New Albany campus, he updated me on what he has done since finishing our program he became a father; worked in a couple of factories; then joined the Army, making friends from around the country and the globe North Carolina and Georgia, the UK, Africa, Czechia.

He finished his enlistment and opted to come back home and work in the skilled trades, finding odd jobs and learning from them. “I worked my butt off to get into the trades,” he said. “I didn’t care if it was plumbing, building houses, hauling

TREVER COBB

SPRINGBOARD TO SUCCESS

“You can make it here, because the people here want you to make it. And that’s an environment that most people dream of.”

lumber, roofing — it didn’t matter. I was going to do everything, because I knew I had to work hard to become somebody. It’s not given to you. You’ve got to work real hard for it.”

This self-educating approach served him well through his next steps a Northeast welding class, a job with a local plumber, another plumbing job in a Memphis suburb, and now back home, working for his former employer full-time and a local retailer part-time — learning more and more along the way.

He continues to educate himself, he said, but he left no doubt as to where the foundation for his learning journey was laid Northeast’s Adult Education program.

He recalled an incident in class when I corrected him for slightly adolescent behavior. “You said, ‘Hey, we’re all grown in this room, because if you came to me [for adult education], you’re an adult now.’ And that was so profound, because at 17 years old I couldn’t beg someone to treat me like an adult.

“It was my very first interaction as an adult. It was absolutely life-changing.”

Now, having grown up and honed his skills, he aims to start a business to control

his own fate and set an example for his children. “One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Old men plant trees, knowing they will never sit in the shade they cast.’ That’s my goal. I want to leave a legacy for all of my children to be able to say, ‘My dad did this.’

“I want them to say, ‘It does not matter the hand you’re dealt. Give me the challenge.’”

So, I asked, is that what he considers success having a thriving business? Will he feel successful then? He already does. “The way that you feel at the end of the day,” he said, “that’s your success. I don’t live in a mansion, but I have kids and a wife who love me. And every day when I get home, they’re happy to see me. I feel richer than any man who’s ever lived.

“I don’t need a new truck. I don’t need a new home. I don’t need a million dollars. I’m happy with who I am, I’m happy with what I have, and I’m happy for what will be.”

As we wound down our conversation, I asked him what advice he would give someone who might be hesitant to enroll in adult ed. He leaned forward, placed his index finger onto the table, and delivered a speech fit for a Super Bowl locker room. “It starts right here,” he said, tapping the table with his finger. “Everything starts right here.

“[I would tell them] it’s going to change your life. I don’t care how old you are. You can be 16, you can be 99. There’s something you want to do. And people out there are going to give you every reason on earth why you can’t do it. I’m going to tell you how you can. Start right here,” — he pounded the table with his finger — “pick up this piece of paper (diploma). No one can stop you at that point. The world is your oyster. The only one stopping you is you.

“You can make it here, because the people here want you to make it. And that’s an environment that most people dream of.

“Everyone thought you just threw your life away [by withdrawing from school]. But you didn’t. You did not throw a dang thing away. You just started over.”

At that point, I was ready to sign up.

We finished our meeting, and as Trever left, I felt ready to tackle my own goals and challenges as his words echoed in mind, a refrain that had peppered our conversation “If you work harder, you’ll go farther.”

No longer was I the teacher and he the student. We had switched roles.

JAIME AVILA

FAMILY MAN INSPIRES THE NEXT GENERATION

“It helped me look at life differently. There is a lot more opportunity for better jobs. Before I finished the HiSET [exam] and got my diploma, I really felt like I was stuck. Now I hear about all these opportunities. And better pay. A lot better pay. That’s what’s really motivated me.”

Jaime Avila quit school in the 10th grade – not because of discipline issues, failing grades, or lack of ambition. He did it for his family.

“There were a lot of furniture companies at the time, and I was hearing about people making good money,” he says. “I saw that my dad was struggling at work, putting all those hours in, so I just decided to go ahead and jump to it.”

Foregoing high school and his goal of following in a cousin’s footsteps to the military, Jaime went to work building furniture, sacrificing his dreams of the future to the demands of the present. A few years later, he decided to enroll in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program to earn a high-schoolequivalency diploma. His full-time job was a major obstacle. “I would get off really late, and it was always a struggle to get off work and run up here [to the classroom],” he says. “It was very difficult asking permission to get off work early. Then work slowed down and I couldn’t really ask for the time off because they really needed people to be there. That was always the big challenge.”

This led to a piecemeal approach; he came to class when he could. It took a few years, but he never gave up. Ten full years later he finally earned his diploma, and it was

worth all the trouble. “It helped me look at life differently,” he says. “There is a lot more opportunity for better jobs. Before I finished the HiSET [exam] and got my diploma, I really felt like I was stuck. Now I hear about all these opportunities. And better pay. A lot better pay. That’s what’s really motivated me.”

Fresh off his success in earning his diploma, Jaime set his sights higher. Working with Northeast’s adult-ed advising staff, he decided to pursue a career as an electrician. “I’ve done a couple of construction jobs in the past, and it always caught my attention, how everything works,” he says. “I just find it amazing how a simple wire lights up a whole building.”

He began his college career during the summer, taking College Algebra and English Composition I. Tina Gambill was his English Comp instructor. “Jaime attended English Composition I under my instruction during the months of June and July,” she says. “Even though this was a summer course, he was present for every class meeting, which I believe says so much about his dedication and perseverance. I know there were a few times when he felt discouraged for various reasons, but he was a hard worker and never complained. I was so proud to see him succeed in this course, and I am sure his attitude will lead to more successes.”

Algebra was a different story. “I kind of restricted myself before I started [the algebra class], because I thought, ‘This is going to be so difficult.’ That was my biggest challenge throughout high school — math,” he says. “But once I got to it, [I realized that] if you really want it, you will be able to do it. The teacher was awesome, I understood everything she was talking about, and I was really surprised with my final grade. If you really pay attention and do the work, there is no challenge.” (Neuroscience supports this notion; attention is vital for adults to trigger the brain changes necessary for learning.) His algebra instructor, Bonnie Wanner, concurs that he earned his grade by learning from the past. “He knew that the mistakes he had made in his education in the past were not going to hinder him this time,” she says. “He was dedicated to succeeding this time.”

“I would love,” she says, “to have an entire classroom of Jaimes.”

But that was summer. The time commitment for his classes amounted to only a couple of hours a day, allowing him to continue working full-time. Then came fall semester, and a full schedule, and the return of Jaime’s tugof-war between work and school, present needs and future ambition. This time, with the help of his own family, the future won out. He talked to his employer about reducing his hours to allow him to attend classes, but

“they couldn’t work with my schedule,” he says. “I got home and talked to my wife, and I said, ‘Either I do this now and get better, or I get stuck in the same situation where I have always been.’ And she said, ‘It’s going to be a struggle, but we can make it.’”

Jaime is a college freshman now with a full class load – studying hard, staying focused, and, as always, taking care of his family. But now in a different way. “It [attending college] is a good example for my [10-year-old] son, because he’s starting to notice everything. I tell him how awesome college is, and he’s actually getting more focused. When I get home, I talk to him, and he asks, ‘How was school today? What did you do?’ He’s actually excited about going to school.”

As a younger man, Jaime sacrificed his dream to take care of his family first his parents, then his wife and children. Now, with their support, he is pursuing a different dream, and perhaps an even better one – electricians, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, earn $56,900 a year on average, with a job outlook that is much higher than the average for all positions. His advice for anyone considering doing what he has done? “It’s never too late. If you really want to do it, now is the time to do it. You can go to your job every day and do what you have to do, or you can do something that you love and get paid better.”

At one of the most difficult times in her life, when she lost a baby, Brandy Nobles decided that rather than giving up, it was time to get to work.

“I got into this program right after I lost my first daughter,” she says. “I went through a miscarriage and started working.”

By “this program” she means Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program, and specifically a youth training program now called Gateway, then called C2C. By “started working” she means learning basic work skills in the program, then taking free workforce classes at Northeast, then earning two degrees – an associate degree in paralegal technology, then a Bachelor of Applied Science with a psychology emphasis – while working fulltime. But it all began with the basic work skills she learned in the Gateway program.

“It [the program] gave me better access to learning things that I wasn’t aware of,” she says. “We went more in depth into Microsoft office. It also helped me with being able to talk to people. It helped me pick up on my weaknesses; that way I could work on them so I could succeed better in life.”

She also gained work experience with a paid internship, which expanded her options. “I hadn’t worked before, except in a shop

BRANDY NOBLES

SETTING AN EXAMPLE WHILE BALANCING LIFE EVENTS

“It still can be done. Because your kids are watching, and if they see you saying, ‘Oh, I can’t do this,’ they’ll get can’t into their head and that’s all they’ll hear. Can’t is not a thing I want my children to know.”

with my dad, and that was sailor talk and throwing tools,” she quips.

“So, I expanded my horizons.”

Taking the WorkKeys test, a measure of workplace skills, helped, too; her score helped her land a job at Toyota’s assembly plant in Blue Springs in 2015. Then life got busy. Really busy. What followed, for the next 8 years, was a dizzying array of lifechanging events.

It all began when she made the challenging decision to leave her position at Toyota due to pregnancy complications, dedicating the next 18 months to nurturing her daughter, Chevy. Undeterred by setbacks, she embarked on a new professional chapter with FXI in Baldwyn in July 2017. Despite facing a layoff in October 2017, Nobles welcomed her daughter, Remi, in March 2018, and swiftly secured re-employment at a different FXI facility the same month.

The Nobles family relocated to Southaven in February 2019, marking the commencement of Nobles’ tenure at FedEx. Unfazed by change, she transitioned to Grainger in July 2019 while pursuing an associate degree in paralegal technology from August 2019. Nobles rejoined Toyota in October 2020, seamlessly balancing work and academic pursuits. Her relentless pursuit of

education saw her successfully complete the paralegal program in May 2021, despite facing a workplace injury in June 2021 and subsequent surgery in September 2021. Undeterred, Nobles resumed her role as a paralegal in December 2021, concurrently embracing the joys of motherhood with the birth of her daughter, Nova, in August 2022.

She embarked on the journey toward a bachelor's degree in September 2022. Despite leaving her paralegal position in February 2023, Nobles swiftly transitioned to a new law firm in March 2023, showcasing her adaptability in the face of change.

Her resilience reached its pinnacle when she proudly graduated with a bachelor's degree in May 2023, a testament to her ability to triumph over challenges and set an admirable example of perseverance in the pursuit of personal and professional goals.

Her original intention was to go to law school after her bachelor’s degree. Then, a new challenge led her to a monumental decision study mental health instead.

“It’s been a really big thing to me this year, especially after I had my last daughter,” she says. “I’ve had a lot of mental health issues previously. They just flared up a whole lot worse since I had her; I had postpartum depression with her.

“I have gotten with a therapist and she’s really good. We’ve discussed it [studying mental health] and it seems like a good fit. I’d still be helping people, just in a different way [than with legal issues] helping them to be mentally happy.”

Despite all the changes, all the setbacks she has faced – including her house burning last year, her senior year of college – Brandy is still moving forward. She plans to start a master’s degree in social work soon.

It will be a challenge, not unlike the other challenges she has faced since beginning her journey. But she will finish. She is determined. Her approach is the same as the advice she offers others looking to further their education in the face of challenging circumstances. “Do it,” she says simply. “Don’t stop. You’ve just got to keep trying different ways until you figure out a way that works for you and your life situation.

And you can’t use excuses like, ‘Oh, I have children, I don’t have time, I don’t have a support system.’

“It still can be done. Because your kids are watching, and if they see you saying, ‘Oh, I can’t do this,’ they’ll get can’t into their head and that’s all they’ll hear.

“Can’t is not a thing I want my children to know.”

GAGE JOHNSON

GRADUATE SEES DISCIPLINE AS KEY TO SUCCESS

“My parents always taught me that if you want to get stuff done, you’ve just got to do it and be disciplined with it. I knew if I were lazy, it would never happen.”

There are those of us who do not benchpress over 350 pounds; do not get up at 4am to teach CrossFit and BootCamp fitness classes, then attend college classes, then go back to work until 9pm; do not finally lie down about midnight only to get up the next morning and do it all over again. And then there’s Gage Johnson, doing all these things. And he’s only 17.

“I’ve been working out consistently since I was 12,” Johnson said, a firm indicator of the approach to life he has developed since an early age. “My parents always taught me that if you want to get stuff done, you’ve just got to do it and be disciplined with it. I knew if I were lazy, it would never happen.”

Born in Albion, IN, Gage moved around with his family, first to Evansville, IN, then Texas, then to Corinth, MS, at age 15. At age 16, he enrolled in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program. Having been homeschooled since 4th grade, he had developed a knack for selfreliance which served him well in the program. And a knack for achievement acceptance into the Gateway and MIBEST training programs, platinum score on the Career Readiness Certificate (the highest possible), high scores on his

high-school-equivalency exam. “He was always a top-notch student in my class,” Deanne Droke, Gateway Career Specialist and Smart Start Instructor, said. “He is the most respectful and mature 16-yearold I have ever had in my class, or met, for that matter.”

How did he achieve so much? “I didn’t want to get the minimum,” he said of his achievements. “I wanted to do better because I knew I could. Sometimes your school work gets boring, but you know you have to get it done to finish what you want to achieve. If there’s something you don’t want to do (to succeed), you say, ‘Well, I have to do this if I want to achieve my goal.’”

Again, this is not some mountaintop guru or wisened elder. This is a 17-year-old. Who started working out when he was 12.

Gage found NEMCC’s program to be a good complement to his intense internal motivation. “If I didn’t have them (the adult ed staff) I wouldn’t have known what I was supposed to do. Every time I had a question, it got answered. If I asked for help, I got it.”

So, what’s next? Completing his college degree in Criminal Justice, then hopefully a career in law enforcement,

first with the highway patrol, then federal law enforcement. He mostly just doesn’t want to be still, doesn’t want to stop achieving. “I think accomplishing your goals is (the definition of) success. It’s important when you finish a big goal to set another one.”

“You don’t want to just stay in the same spot.”

Some students merely learn. Students such as Gage also teach by setting an inspiring example for others. And achieving, accomplishing goals, again and again.

I think accomplishing your goals is (the definition of) success. It’s important when you finish a big goal to set another one.

MARIAH WILLIAMS

FAMILY IS THE CORNERSTONE OF HER EDUCATION

"You live and learn. So, the world is just like a big lesson. You learn from what you fail at. And you keep going."

Come and do it. If you get in here and get it done, you’ll feel like, ‘I did this.’ Then it’s going to push you to keep going. If you can do it here, then you can take it a little bit farther. You can say, ‘Hey, let me see what else I can do.

The highlight of Mariah Williams’ day is when she finishes her 10-hour-a-day, night-shift job and heads to Northeast Mississippi Community College to begin a full day of classes. That’s when she gets the text.

“I get a message from him every morning when I get off work ‘Mama, I love you. Have a great day at school.’” Her son, Jontavious, lets her know he supports her – then he heads to his own sixth-grade classes. They are both in school, and they support each other. “I tell him [to have a good day at school], and he tells me.”

Mariah didn’t finish high school. She enrolled in Northeast’s Adult Education program last year, intent on earning a high-school-equivalency diploma. She wasn’t sure about going any further with her education after that, but then a funny thing happened. She started to gain confidence.

“It [the adult ed program] showed me that if I can do it [earn a diploma] now, then I can go a little further.” She struggled at first – she did full-time day-shift work then, attending class at night – but then she took a test. And passed it. And then it hit her. “I felt like I could go on to college. It was like, if

I can go in here every night and study and do all my work…why not? Why not try to go back to school for what I love to do?”

What does she love to do? “I love to cook!” she says. “Cooking relaxes me. I love being in the kitchen. When I’m upset, that’s where I go – the kitchen.”

Where does this love of cooking come from? Her family, naturally. “It [cooking] reminds me of being in the kitchen with my granny,” she says. “I grew up with my granny and my mama in the kitchen.” For Mariah, the love of food coincides with the love of family – and the enjoyment of the food those family members prepare. “If your mama makes it, it’s good; but if your granny makes it, it’s even better.”

Mariah’s family support doesn’t stop with her immediate family. Her cousin, Erica Miller, a Northeast staff member who once worked in adult education, has watched Mariah’s accomplishments. She is as impressed as anyone. “Mariah’s journey is an inspiration to us all, reminding me that with hard work and perseverance, dreams can become a reality. Mariah’s story is a testament to the power of a single parent’s love and the limitless possibilities.”

So now Mariah is enrolled in Northeast’s culinary arts program, studying what she loves. She hopes to someday have her own business, but for now she just hopes to set a good example for Jontavious with her effort. “It shows him that, hey, my mom is doing what she loves to do – what she needs to do, to do what she wants to do in life.” For Mariah, taking on hard challenges in front of her son is vital to his development “because I want him to know you don’t ever give up. You keep going.”

“You live and learn,” she adds. “So, the world is just like a big lesson. You learn from what you fail at. And you keep going.”

What advice would she give someone considering earning a diploma? “Come and do it,” she says. “If you get in here and get it done, you’ll feel like, ‘I did this.’ Then it’s going to push you to keep going. If you can do it here, then you can take it a little bit farther. You can say, ‘Hey, let me see what else I can do.’”

It’s the same support she gives her son. And that he gives her. It is, to echo Miller, a testament to the power of a single parent’s love. And the limitless possibilities.

MADISON RHODES

MAKING HEADWAY DESPITE RARE LONG-TERM CONDITION

“I’ve had it since I was seven years old. I got an erosion in my eye when I was seven and it was swollen to the size of a golf ball for months. It caused me to miss a lot of school."

You don’t need perfect sight to have great vision. Madison Rhodes is living proof.

Born with a rare condition, corneal lattice dystrophy, Madison is extremely nearsighted. “I’ve had it since I was seven years old,” Madison says of her condition, in which clumps of protein cloud the outer covering of the eyes, causing extreme visual interference and painful corneal erosions. “I got an erosion in my eye when I was seven and it was swollen to the size of a golf ball for months. It caused me to miss a lot of school.” She still recalls the immense difficulty it caused her, both physical and emotional. “I had a lot of trouble just trying to see what was on the board. Everything took me so much longer than it took everyone else. I had to literally sit right in front of the board where they were projecting slides. It was really embarrassing to me.”

Unable to overcome her difficulties in school, Madison eventually withdrew, enrolling in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program and earning a GED high-schoolequivalency diploma. Along the way, she qualified for the Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Training Program (MIBEST). While the program provides extra support – tuition, course-fee, and transportation assistance, among other

benefits – Madison feels that perhaps the biggest boost came from the counseling she received. “I had so much help. They made everything really easy when I was sure it was going to be hard. They gave me lots of encouragement and direction. They were always quick to answer all the questions I had, which I had a lot of. They helped me figure out the path I needed to take to achieve my goals.”

Though she still struggles with her condition (“[It is] nowhere near as bad [as before]; my eyes just swell shut for about a week –one of them, usually not both.”), Madison’s internal sight, her outlook, remains clear she wants to earn a business degree and apply it to a job in the healthcare profession, helping others who may be suffering as she has. Now in her third semester of college at Northeast, Madison also works full-time at a local nursing home. She is inching closer to finally having corrective surgery, which will give her something closer to normal eyesight than she has had since she was a small child. Though she is grateful for the help she has received, Madison has done the hard work necessary for success. Though she sees with great difficulty, she foresees her future – a future in which she makes a difference in the lives of others –with great clarity.

I had so much help. They made everything really easy when I was sure it was going to be hard. They gave me lots of encouragement and direction. They were always quick to answer all the questions I had, which I had a lot of. They helped me figure out the path I needed to take to achieve my goals.

In his sophomore year of high school, having recently cared almost entirely for his grandmother – his legal guardian – for months after her debilitating back surgery, and as he struggled with depression and anxiety in the aftermath, Sebastian Mejia learned that his father was in trouble.

“The main reason I left [high school] was because of my mental health.” he says, “Another reason was, my biological father was struggling a lot; he was homeless at the time. We were trying to help him out, we were going to fly all over Mexico, but our plans were canceled there.”

Given these family and personal struggles, and then the pandemonium of the Covid lockdowns, it’s no wonder Sebastian finally felt the strain was too much for him to continue school. He withdrew.

He soon moved forward, however, enrolling in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program, which proved to be a challenge in its own right. “The very first day I met anyone in the program was the day I turned 16,” he says. “At first, when I thought about it, it did seem scary; like, ‘I didn’t even get to finish my sophomore year and now I’m jumping into getting my high-school equivalency diploma.’

SEBASTIAN MEJIA

FINDING COURAGE & PURPOSE DURING STRUGGLES

“The main reason I left [high school] was because of my mental health. Another reason was, my biological father was struggling a lot; he was homeless at the time. We were trying to help him out, we were going to fly all over Mexico, but our plans were canceled there.”

“It was a lot to take in,” he says. “And then I was through in 2 or 3 months. It was crazy.”

What drove him forward during all this confusion and struggle? A singular passion, forged during his early difficulties. “When my grandmother had back surgery, it was just me and her alone at the house, no one else. I had to learn how to cook and do almost everything around the house, by myself, on my own. At that point I was 12 or 13, 13 at the very oldest. And I had to learn everything, learn the ropes – on my own.”

There was one chore that he didn’t mind doing. “Cooking was the biggest one that stood out to me. I’ve always had a passion for it.” One type of cooking captivated him. “The main thing that really caught my eye was baking. I’m not really a big sweets guy, but I love making cakes, baking desserts, all that kind of stuff. And I love to offer them to people and see the smiles on their faces, that they enjoy it.

“One thing that we, as a Hispanic family, have always liked is to celebrate. We make a lot of desserts. So, I would be the one making the desserts, my own birthday cakes and that kind of stuff, and to see everybody enjoy it, to see everybody be happy with it…It’s a way of providing for someone and helping them. I’ve been through challenges before, but I’m not very

good at helping people vocally. I’ve always been better at helping someone through a gift, to help cheer someone up.”

His passion created a vision. Having grown up in the restaurant industry, occasionally helping out with odd chores at the local spot where his grandmother worked, he felt compelled to share his love of food with others. “I want to have my own cafe and bakery,” he says, “hopefully open 7 days a week, mainly through breakfast and lunchtime.”

Sebastian finished his diploma work quickly, then worked in a paid internship with NEMCC’s Gateway program, where he received valuable mentoring from a local small-business owner. Armed with his diploma, entrepreneurial training, and newfound confidence, Sebastian was ready to enroll in culinary school and begin to turn his dream into a reality. Then tragedy struck again for both he and his grandmother. “My grandmother found out that she had cancer,” he says, “and when I first heard that it broke my heart, because she has raised me ever since I was a baby.” Once again Sebastian put his life on hold to care for her. And once again, Sebastian – still 16 at the time – found strength in his resolve to share love through food. “Again, like with the back surgery, I was the one providing for the family, having to work

and also help with the house, clean the house, feed everyone. And again, like with the back surgery, it gives me a reason why I’m doing it. It helps them.

“I’ve always liked to cook a nice, good, warm meal – a comfort food, basically. That’s what my favorite thing to do is to give a comfort food. A nourishing meal.”

Thankfully, with his grandmother now recovered (“She is a cancer survivor! It’s all gone.”) Sebastian is finally enrolled in NEMCC’s Culinary Arts program. He is doing well, competing alongside classmates to place 2nd in Culinary Arts and 4th in Event Planning at a recent statewide competition. He is finally moving forward.

Between his family’s challenges and his own struggles, Sebastian has had to grow up faster than most. But the highs and lows he has faced in his young life have molded him, given him courage. He understands the fears of those who need to earn a diploma as a first step to pursuing their dreams. He has been there, and his advice to them is straightforward. “It’s a big step in life to get your diploma, and a lot of people are scared of that because it’s a big step. Don’t be scared.

“That’s the best way I can say it. Don’t be scared.”

ABBIE MCLELLEN

PLAYING TO STRENGTHS IN SEARCH OF CERTAINTY

“Now that I look back on it, it’s the best decision I ever made. It definitely helped me get to college… It taught me a lot work ethic, how to save money, how to enroll in college. I just don’t think I could have done any of that without the [Northeast Adult Education] program.”

“I like numbers. I like math.”

Abbie McLellen knows what she likes. For her, math provides certainty in an uncertain life. “Numbers don’t change… with math, as long as you’re doing it right, there’s only one right answer. That’s what I like about it.”

Having withdrawn from high school in the ninth grade only to struggle in a homeschool program (“I didn’t understand the self-discipline you need in order to do what you need to do.”), McLellen found herself unsure of what to do next. She knew she needed a highschool-equivalency diploma to attend college and pursue her love of numbers in the field of accounting. But she was hesitant. “I think a small part of me was embarrassed to get my GED,” she says.

Once she enrolled in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program, the uncertainty continued. She struggled initially, mostly due to “just not being in school for two years. I felt a little uncomfortable taking tests and going to class,” she says. “I had gotten out of the routine of going to class every day, and that was hard.”

Her hard work paid off. “Now that I look back on it,” she says, “it’s the best

decision I ever made.” She says she benefited from the academic instruction and much more. “It definitely helped me get to college…It taught me a lot work ethic, how to save money, how to enroll in college. I just don’t think I could have done any of that without the program.”

“I can come to you guys with anything, any help I need,” she says. “I did learn a lot in that class, but I feel like it’s more personal than just going to a class and getting your GED.”

After she completed her HSE diploma, she moved forward with her original plan college. More uncertainty ensued, more struggle, especially with “being on a big campus, because East Union, where I went [to high school] is an ittybitty school; everybody knows everybody. That was an adjustment, because when I first got to class I didn’t see one familiar face. It was all brand new. I struggled to make friends at first.” Her challenges extended to the classroom material “Some of the harder classes, I struggled with.”

Lucky for McLellen, struggle builds strength, so long as the struggler perseveres. She did just that, settling in, getting a handle on her classes, making friends. Now, her first year behind her, McLellen has a perspective that belies

her young age – she was still 16 years old when she finished her first college semester. To her, success is “doing what you love and finishing what you started.” Given her determination, Abbie McLellen’s success seems likely. One might even say it is certain.

I like numbers. I like math. Numbers don’t change…with math, as long as you’re doing it right, there’s only one right answer. That’s what I like about it. “

Christy Sanders was embarrassed about enrolling in an adult education program. Then, upon attending her first class, she discovered something she hadn’t thought of.

She realized that she wasn’t alone.

“I was nervous, I was embarrassed, I was… so many things,” she says of enrolling in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program. “But I just said, ‘Hey, I’m going.’”

What was she nervous about? “Just going back to school, being so far behind, not knowing where to start.” The embarrassment came from “being so old (relatively speaking; she’s not that old)…and then the fact that I dropped out of school.”

Despite the difficulties, she was comforted by “seeing people I hadn’t seen for a while, who were also embarrassed to come back to school,” she says. “We ended up coming back to school together.”

Christy’s formal education was a long time coming, though life taught her plenty outside of school. She withdrew from school in the 9th grade – “I just got off track,” she says – and wound up working in a nursing home as a CNA for 14

CHRISTY SANDERS SEEKING TO INSPIRE

“Once you get to what you are striving for, all the sacrifices you made will be well worth it. It’s going to be stressful, going from a CNA to a social worker, but at the same time it’s going to be worth it to face the challenges and build my career.”

years. She recalls a sobering experience “In a nursing home, you not only work with the elderly. I actually got to take care of a lady who was closer to my age. That gave me a reality check, you know, ‘This could be me.’ It’s not really about age. I could leave here and get hit by a big diesel truck and be bed-bound for the rest of my life. I try to ask, ‘If this were me, how would I want to be taken care of?’”

Once she began working on her highschool-equivalency diploma, completing it proved difficult. Attending night classes after working all day at an exhausting fulltime health-care job, plus losing a couple of close friends, presented challenges that would take years to overcome. Still, she would not be denied, an attitude she conveyed to her fellow students. Says her instructor, Shanna Cole, “Christy was such a determined student. She worked very hard and set high expectations for herself. She was so encouraging to her fellow classmates and always pushed them to give their best.”

After years of hard work, Christy finally earned her diploma. For her part, Christy attributes some of her success to the foundation provided by Northeast’s program. “It (the program) gave me a few good teachers,” she says of Cole and her colleagues. “Y’all believed in us. You

pushed us. Even when I said, ‘I can’t do this’, y’all would come back and say, ‘Yes, you can do this.’ Y’all give us all of you. I mean, look at me! So I think y’all have done a great job.”

Having climbed one mountain, Christy has now ventured on to the next a degree in social work. She is taking English Composition and College Algebra at Northeast this summer and will enroll full-time this fall. She has had to make sacrifices. “I was working full-time; now I’m working part time, and I might have to do that for a while,” she says. “Right now, I can tell a financial difference, but I just say, ‘It’ll get greater later.’”

What drives Christy to continue down the long road she began so many years ago? “Being able to help people,” she says. “I want to give back in some form, and just be a positive influence in someone else’s life besides my own.”

“In my family,” she goes on, “we have a lot of people who work in the medical field…As a child, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do; when I started working as a CNA, it gave me a vision. Seeing people with no voice… who may or may not have anyone visit them…as a social worker, that’s what you’re supposed to be there for to give.”

“Once you get to what you are striving for, all the sacrifices you made will be well worth it,” she says, summing up her approach. “It’s going to be stressful, going from a CNA to a social worker, but at the same time it’s going to be worth it to face the challenges and build my career.”

Christy has succeeded, and she wants to succeed even further. She has overcome her own fears and is moving forward. What would she say to those seeking to do the same? “Go for it. You can do it. I did it. You can do it, too.”

I want to give back in some form, and just be a positive influence in someone else’s life besides my own.

JALISA ESTES

CONTINUALLY LEARNING

“Practice. If you don’t practice it, you’re never going to learn it. I’m just constantly trying to put more into my brain.”

Jalisa Estes drove by the adult education classroom at Northeast Mississippi Community College for 13 long years before she finally got up the nerve to stop, come in, and begin working on her high-school-equivalency diploma.

There were reasons she had put it off for so long – kids, work, life. But underneath it all was a prevailing belief. “I just didn’t see myself as smart,” she says, summing up a mindset that plagues many adult ed students – one that forms early and, for some, never leaves.

Had she stayed in high school, Jalisa would have been older than her peers when she graduated, which influenced her decision to withdraw from school. She had failed 9th grade and was in the process of failing 10th when she withdrew, at age 17. She simply lacked confidence –as well as another key ingredient. “I just wasn’t motivated,” she says. “My best courses were English and art. Anything outside of that, I was just bored with it.”

At long last, she got started on her diploma. She finished quickly, which she credits in part to her teachers, Letisha Belk and Courtney Casabella. “My teachers kept me motivated. They inspired me to go beyond what I thought I was capable of.”

After earning her diploma, Jalisa took advantage of the department’s career counseling services, looking for her next step. She found it. It was a doozy.

Capitalizing on her experience helping local businesses set up websites – she had taught herself to code – she was directed to the two-year degree in Information Systems Technology at Northeast, which offers a pathway in iOS app development. “I had taught myself a lot for website development,” she says. “App development seemed like the next step.”

She enrolled. As she soon discovered, cutting-edge work such as app development and virtual reality is not without its difficulties – such as learning different coding languages. How does she deal with such challenges? “Practice. If you don’t practice it, you’re never going to learn it. I’m just constantly trying to put more into my brain.”

Jalisa feels as if she has found the perfect path for herself. “Everything in that program is a puzzle – and I love puzzles!” she says. But beyond the satisfaction she gets from her work, Jalisa describes another motivation –the things she can do with the money she will make after graduation. “I have never been on a vacation,” she says. “My

husband has never been on a vacation. We try to do things for our children that we weren’t able to do as kids, but it’s hard. That’s going to change. The pay for the work I’m going to be doing is almost four times our current household income. I’m going to be able to enjoy my time with my family and do things with my children that I never got to do growing up.”

For Jalisa, success has four elements. “Family, love, respect, and knowledge –those are the keys to success,” she says. Jalisa is living proof that with the right motivations and the right mindset, students can accomplish more than they ever thought possible. And make life better, for themselves and their families.

Family, love, respect, and knowledge –those are the keys to success.

Some people are scientists, appreciating the things that can be proven and explained. Others are artists, creating, dealing in a mysterious process that defies explanation. Some, like Northeast Mississippi Community College adult education graduate Charles Aurora, are both.

This makes sense, given his immense intellectual ability. (A perfect score on any of the five subjects on the HiSET diploma test is a 20. Charles scored four 20s and a 19.) If anyone can deal in both the explainable and the unexplainable, it’s Charles.

Born in Belton, MO, Charles and his family moved around several times during his childhood, from Florence, AL, to Beebe, AR; Searcy, AR, to Belmont, MS, where his family still lives. He lives on campus at Northeast, where he majors in biology, a field he chose out of sheer wonder. “I was interested in all of the weird and wonderful things that biology has to offer,” he says, “less so in human biology and more so [in] the truly unusual organisms. For instance, some bacteria can sort of feast off of pure electrons.” His particular area of interest is “the history of life on earth and how the various organisms…relate to one another and how they’re connected.”

This is a big topic. But Charles thinks big.

CHARLES AURORA

COVERING ALL THE BASES IN QUEST TO CONTRIBUTE

“Because of our own limitations, we can never perceive the universe or reality in its totality… We see only a very small minority of the complete spectrum.”

To him, there is always more we can learn about the world. “Because of our own limitations, we can never perceive the universe or reality in its totality…We see only a very small minority of the complete spectrum.”

All this might seem trivial and academic, just something for scientists and professors to busy themselves with. Not so with Charles. “Just providing a more complete picture of the history of life is a contribution to the world,” he says. “I think that knowledge that may seem impractical or useless may eventually prove vital in a new invention or in something that changes our lives for the better. If we gain a more complete picture of the different related organisms, for example, we would probably be better able to understand things like diseases… That could be used to find out where diseases can mutate and how they could be stopped earlier in their tracks.”

Northeast Adult Education instructor Karri Davis, a former corporate trainer who teaches professional skills, confirms Charles’s practical approach to life. “While he was enrolled with us, he worked at Dollar General,” she says. “He could easily relate to the value of good customer service, communication, teamwork, and time management. His participation in the class

lessons brought a unique insight of realworld experiences to the concepts.”

Charles is equally practical in art as in science. An aspiring filmmaker, his current project is “inspired by three main films A Face In The Crowd by Elia Kazan, from 1957; Network, from 1976, directed by Sidney Lumet; and Bamboozled from the year 2000, directed by Spike Lee. These three movies…all deal with serious problems with television and the culture around it…In making the film I want to make, which I’m calling Force of Opinion, I want to take these films and update them to be more about problems with…internet culture and internet personalities. I want to examine the effects that the internet would have on a society and how it can influence our opinions, hence the title. It’s about both the force carried by opinion and forcing people to have specific opinions.”

Charles has big goals; he wants to accomplish much. What advice would he give someone considering the big goal of furthering his or her education? “It’s ok to do things a little bit at a time,” he says. “It’s easy to become overwhelmed by problems if you look at them in their entirety. In order to solve problems, it’s best to deal with them a little at a time.”

Spoken like a true scientist. And a true artist.

To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science.

–LEONARDO DA VINCI

ANGIE SHAW

TRANSFORMING STRUGGLES INTO INNER STRENGTH

“I would say encourage yourself. Go after it. Stick with it. Like Nike, just do it, and have confidence about what you’re doing. Because in life, we don’t get that [encouragement] from everybody. So you being your best fan, that’s the biggest thing you can have just you…doing it.”

Like any good parent, Angie Shaw wants her children to have a better life than she did growing up. Much better.

“Watching my kids,” she says, when asked what led her to the front door of Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program. “I always said that I would have to provide them with the best life possible, because I didn’t have it growing up. I didn’t want to see them struggle or make them feel like they didn’t fit in.”

For Angie, it wasn’t shyness that made her feel uneasy around other kids; it was circumstances. “I grew up too fast,” she says, “not having everything I needed, like clothing, shoes, stuff like that. I didn’t feel like I fit in with everybody else.”

Angie wants to be a nurse,. She knows it will help her provide a good living for her family, but she has an even deeper reason for entering that essential profession. “I worked as a CNA for over ten years,” she says. “I started young, back when my dad was in a nursing facility. One day I told God, ‘If [being a nurse is] what I need to do, give me a sign.’” She then recounts an incident with her father at a relative’s house. He was at this point in poor health, incontinent. It fell on Angie to care for him that night. “That was my sign that it was my calling to take care of people.”

She goes on “I have been there when people took their last breath, had to bathe them and set them up on the bed for the family to come view them. That’s everything to me – just to show them I care.”

“You know,” she says, “I think people need people like me.”

Angie feels no need for recognition, however. “You don’t have to put me up on a pedestal,” she says, “because God has created me just how He wanted to create me. I just want to be love and light in God’s eyes.”

As strong as she is, Angie knows that no one is an island. She found the help she needed at Northeast.

“You all taught me that I wasn’t alone; you know, I’m not the only one who has struggled and come back, quit and come back.” Saying this, her eyes light up. Her voice quickens. “Man, this is starting my life! This is just a new chapter for me and my kids. And I thank y’all for that.”

Angie then recalls the adult ed graduation ceremony a few months earlier. Angie and another graduate both showed up, children in tow, only to find that no one was there to celebrate with them –nor watch their kids. These ladies both

needed to be there, to walk across the stage, and their children needed to see it. Two staff members, Amanda Janes and Alison Coleman, left the procession to help, babysitting on the fly. “You know,” she says, “when we were walking that stage, I was by myself. I had no family there to watch my kids. Instructors stepped up to watch my kids and I walked. That was amazing.” She pauses. “You all are family.”

Given all that she has endured, Angie is in the perfect position to offer advice to prospective students. What would she counsel them to do? “I would say encourage yourself,” she says. “Go after it. Stick with it. Like Nike, just do it, and have confidence about what you’re doing. Because in life, we don’t get that [encouragement] from everybody. So you being your best fan, that’s the biggest thing you can have just you…” she lowers her voice, speaks slowly and deliberately, “…doing it.”

“Encourage yourself. Have faith and believe that you can. And you will.”

Perhaps this kind of wisdom, this kind of belief, only comes from growing up too fast. Fortunately for us all, there are people like Angie, willing to use the hard-earned lessons they have learned to help others.

I have been there when people took their last breath, had to bathe them and set them up on the bed for the family to come view them. That’s everything to me – just to show them I care.

Jordan Marley is working hard to earn a nursing license. What she has already gained is even more valuable.

“It really changed my life,” she says of her experience getting her high-schoolequivalency diploma at Northeast Mississippi Community College, before pursuing her nursing degree there. “I think that had I not [enrolled], I would still be stuck wondering what I should do with my time. You know, they say the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That’s where I was. So it changed my life. I feel so much more confident, and even now I’m not done but I feel more successful — and just happier.”

Happier? Even though she — a working, single mother in a challenging major — is busier than ever?

“I’ve had to try to balance out school, work, my little girl,” she says. “I don’t really have it all quite figured out, but I’m getting there, I think. I struggle with not being able to spend as much time with my little girl because I have to study, but it will be worth it.”

Ok, so she knows it will be worth it. But is she really happier than before, when her

JORDAN MARLEY

LEARNING VALUABLE LESSONS

“I’m not just here to pass. I’m here to learn.”

life wasn’t so busy, when she was working full-time as a customer-service rep for a medical supply company and had no assignments, no tests, no extra stress? She sounds as though she is — if happiness comes from growth and meaning, a sure measure of maturity. “When you start this kind of thing, at least you know your life is going somewhere,” she says. “Even if I were to change my major, or if something out of my control were to happen, at least I took this step. You really have to put forth the effort for it to mean something, but it’s definitely worthwhile.”

This confidence, this mature sense of direction, did not come easily for Jordan. For one thing, she grew up “a little bit of everywhere, really” Memphis, Olive Branch, Chicago, Louisiana, Southaven, Missouri.

She withdrew from school her senior year. “They required you to take classes in Louisiana that I didn’t have time to finish as a senior,” she says. “I tried homeschooling, and it just never clicked for me; I couldn’t stay focused.”

Mostly, though, she dealt with her own lack of belief in herself, a common affliction even among those with more stability in their background than Jordan. It took some time for her to decide

to pursue her HSE diploma. “I was disappointed in myself for waiting so long,” she says. “I was probably twentytwo when I thought about it initially, and I just put it off for a while because I was scared that I would fail. It had been a long time since I had looked at any of that kind of stuff. At first it was kind of scary because when it’s been so long, you’re like, ‘What is this?’ After I took the test and passed, [I discovered that]it was easier than I thought it would be.”

Then it came time to enroll in college. So, having completed a major life goal, brimming with confidence, she took on the colossal challenge of nursing school, right? Not exactly. She initially planned to pursue a paralegal degree — not an easy program, by any means, but she perceived it to be less intimidating than nursing. “Looking back, I think it was just one of those I’m-ready-to-get-done kind of things, to get done as quickly as I can, and not actually taking the time to think about what I wanted to do,” she says. Which was nursing. “I talked to my mom about it, and my sister— we’re really close, so we talk about most things — and they pointed out characteristics about me that could contribute to being a nurse. I just enjoy helping people, and I think I’d be really happy just being able to help and make a difference.” What

area of nursing, for this once-timid soul?

The ER, of course. This girl knows how to take on a challenge, especially when she sees the meaning in it. “I think it’s incredible,” she says, “that I could help save somebody’s life someday.”

Jordan has come a long way. But it has not happened by magic. She has worked hard, stayed with it, and as she has progressed she has done something vital to learning she has noticed her progress. “For the longest time, I thought, ‘I haven’t been in school in so long, there’s no way I know what any of this is anymore,’ and then when I did, it just really surprised me and gave me the confidence I needed to get where I am. I’ve actually surprised myself.”

And now Jordan, focused on her future, having proven to herself what she is capable of, moves confidently in the direction of her dreams, which consist of “my little girl and me being comfortable and not having to stress about money or my career, and not having to put any kind of added stress on her because of all the stressors in my life. Just [being] successful and getting to be with her.”

And she knows how to get there. “I’m not here just to pass,” she says. “I’m here to learn.”

BRENT JOHNSON

CONTINUALLY LEARNING SUCCESS IS POSSIBLE

“People tell me at work, ‘You sure are happy at six o’clock in the morning. It’s too early in the morning to be happy.’ No sir. It’s never too early to be happy. I mean, be positive! Yes, I have bad days. But…that day is simply what I make of it.”

Brent Johnson is a man of faith. Having faith in his ability to earn a diploma, however, took some work.

Like many adult education students, Johnson needed some encouragement to overcome his doubts and enroll in classes. “I came past this [adult education] building a million times,” he says. “And a good friend of mine, Brad Smith, put me over the top. He just kept telling me, ‘Brent, you need to go sign up and get this GED.’ I just really didn’t think I could do it.”

It had been thirty years since his high school days, which he remembers as more fun than fruitful. “Just to be honest, I thought I wanted to be the class clown. It was not that I couldn’t pass. I didn’t want to pass.”

Johnson never finished high school. But what he has lacked in formal learning over the last three decades, he has more than made up for in life learning. He expresses gratitude for many things in his life (“Every day when I wake up, the first thing I say is, ‘Thank you Lord for letting me live another day in your world.’”). He takes things in stride (his advice to a young coworker at the factory where he works “When someone says something that you don’t agree with, try to just let it simply roll off your back.”).

When he finally made the decision to pursue his high-school-equivalency diploma, however, his confidence in the classroom still suffered. He says his time in adult ed gave him the boost he needed. “It helped me become a better me,” he says. “It showed me that I could do anything in life, with the help of good people such as everyone I have dealt with here at Northeast Mississippi Community College.”

Johnson began to progress through the program, overcoming obstacles and selfdoubt with the help of his instructors. “At times, was there frustration? Sure,” he says. “But…due to good people such as [instructors] Ms. Sandy [Gibson], Ms. Karri [Davis]…there was always someone to pick me up.

“When I would go take part of the GED, and I didn’t make it, sure, anybody in their right mind is going to be disappointed. But you know what? All I would say is, ‘Just give me a few minutes to digest it.’ When I would digest what happened, I would say, ‘I’m ready to get back to work. I got to work a little harder.’”

At the heart of Johnson’s determination is his ability to recognize his progress, continually proving to himself that success is possible. In the beginning, as he explains it, “I thought, ‘This will never

happen.’ But…each step I would take, it became more real to me. And I got to believing in myself.

“It’s just taught me how to never give up. Because if you’re gonna give up, why start it?”

Armed with renewed confidence and hard-won optimism, Johnson shares with his coworkers the lessons he has learned, in both words and demeanor. “People tell me at work, ‘You sure are happy at six o’clock in the morning. It’s too early in the morning to be happy.’”

“No sir,” he continues. “It’s never too early to be happy.”

“I mean, be positive!” he continues further. “Yes, I have bad days. But…that day is simply what I make of it.”

What advice would Johnson give someone lacking a high school diploma who, as he once did, regularly drives by the adult education building without walking in? “Stop wasting your time and your gasoline. Just walk on in there. I had to swallow my pride. I walked in that front door.”

“I feel like I’ve done a complete turnaround,” he says. “If people ask me,

‘What year was your graduating class?’ I say, ‘’88. I was just thirty-four years behind them.’

“But you know what? I’ve done it.”

You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

–WILLIAM FAULKNER

College is rough on Taylor Leathers. She deals with it the best way she knows how.

“I can’t tell you how many times I have cried, and I just started college,” she says. “I look at my mom or my boyfriend and say, ‘I’m about to drop out; I hate this so much.’”

She chuckles. “I’m not really going to drop out; it’s just me talking, just trying to calm myself down. They know that. They just say, ‘OK, whatever you need to do.’ Because I cry a lot. Especially over A & P.”

A & P is, of course, Anatomy and Physiology, the hazing ritual of medical programs. A hard class. Students dread it, hate it, cry about it sometimes. Why would someone like Taylor, so light-hearted yet so sensible, pursue a degree that requires it? “My cousin is a home health LPN,” she says. “She tells me stories all the time about the old people she gets to hang out with and talk to and hear all their stories. I love hearing stories from older people. I like to interact with people and let them know that I’m really listening. I am a very nosy person.”

She laughs again as she says this, a clear indication that she is motivated by something much deeper than mere curiosity about the lives of others. “There are quite a few nurses and healthcare workers in my family,” she says. “I like to

TAYLOR LEATHERS

DIVING RIGHT IN

“If you think you can do it, do it. If you think you can’t do it, try it.”

help people. It’s just kind of in my nature. If I see somebody who needs help, it doesn’t matter if I know you or don’t know you, I’m going to at least try to help you.”

“There was a lady in my class who had been out of school for quite some time,” she says. “She was an expectant mother, and she was just trying to get her life together. She always asked a lot of questions in class. I could tell that she’d been out of school for a while. I took the initiative to help her, because I just felt like, ‘She’s trying to do better for herself, and she needs a little help.’”

Before beginning college, Taylor enrolled in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program to earn her high-school equivalency diploma. Taylor’s mother had done a little intervention of her own with Taylor. “People think I dropped out of high school. I did not drop out. I was running with the wrong crowd, and it was affecting my grades. She [Taylor’s mother] pulled me out of high school to put me in homeschool. And it didn’t work out like she wanted, so she found the Northeast program. And it worked out.”

“When my mom first mentioned it to me, I was like, ‘I don’t want to get my GED,’ because she’s a high school graduate, my dad’s a high school graduate; nobody in

my family has a GED. I said, ‘I don’t want to get a GED. If I have to just not get anything I would be fine with it. Then I read up on your program and realized I can get a diploma [rather than a certificate]. Once I did it, I was so proud that I did.”

“Sometimes all you need is a push.”

A nudge from her mother got Taylor in the classroom, but her own determination, her willingness to show up, allowed her to finish and enroll in college. She is undeterred by the fact that she did not finish high school. “I mean, I’m sure if I was in a classroom and people said, ‘Oh, she didn’t graduate high school, she went through Northeast and got her HSE diploma,’ it might hurt my feelings a little bit,” she says.

“But at least I’m there. At least I’m trying to make something of myself. That’s how I see it.”

Beyond her own determination and desire to help others, what drives her? What will earning her degree do for her? “Having everything I’ve always dreamed of,” she says, “like a nice house and some fancy dogs, because I am really big into premium-breed dogs. Like a German shorthaired pointer – it’s a hunting dog, but I want it just as a house pet. They’re amazing. And goldendoodles and

golden retrievers. I’m a big dog person. That’s how I see myself being successful finishing college, having my nice house and my fancy dogs.”

Taylor’s success so far has been a direct result of her grit, motivated by her desire to help others and her own unique interests, tempered by her sense of humor, her resolve not to take herself too seriously. She has learned wisdom through struggle. What would she say to others who might be hesitant about earning a high-schoolequivalency diploma? “If you think you can do it, do it. If you think you can’t do it, try it,” she says. “Because there’s always going to be somebody there to help you, whether it’s family, friends, or a teacher. Or somebody in your class that you don’t even know.”

“It’s worth the stress. And the tears.”

Sometimes all you need is a push. “ ”

VIVIAN JACKSON

FINDING HER CALLING

“It’s worth it. It’s really worth it. It’s not as hard as people think. You have to put effort in, but it’s not super stressful. Y’all don’t make it stressful.”

Vivian Jackson didn’t have many teachers growing up. The ones she did have left a lasting impression. Which is why she wants to be one.

“They [good teachers] just make me feel good. There are teachers who just make me feel like what I’m doing is what I’m supposed to be doing. So, I want to do that.”

Homeschooled since the 4th grade, taught by her mother – a former teacher – Vivian felt something was missing with homeschooling. “I started when I was so young that I didn’t have that social aspect,” she says. “I was at home all the time. I’m really happy that I got out of that.”

Talking with Vivian for more than a few seconds reveals why. Bubbly, friendly, driven, Vivian obviously loves being around people. But there is something she loves even more. “I’ve always been super interested in music,” she says. “It started when I was about six. My mom bought this piano. I remember so distinctly I hit a middle C, and I said, ‘That sounds like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.’ It was just one note, and I sat there for three hours; I just completely played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star–right notes, right everything. I just, I could hear it.”

Eventually, Vivian’s mother signed her up for a homeschool band with noted area music teacher Robert Taylor. It was here that she began to learn the power of a great teacher to inspire. “He taught me everything I know about music. He was really a big deal because I loved the way that he taught me, and I wanted to teach people like that, too.”

“After I stopped in his band, I took private lessons,” she says. “That teacher’s name was Robert, also. He was a great teacher, too. Dr. Taylor was so funny, but he made so much sense. Mr. Robert was really laid back, but everything he said completely made sense, too. I never had questions about anything, because the way they both explained everything was so good. It just clicked.”

At age 16, Vivian enrolled in Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education program to earn her high-school equivalency diploma. “I’m so happy I did that,” she says, both for the academic help she received as well as other skills she learned. “Y’all [Northeast Adult Ed staff] taught me how to get a job. Mr. Chad [Nolan, Adult Ed instructor] taught me how to save money. The day I turn 18 I’m going to be good to move out.”

Nolan recalls Vivian’s experience going

from homeschool to adult education. “Vivian really came to life in my class,” he says. “We had a common interest in music, which we probably talked about too much at times, but it always brought a smile to her face. She really developed a positive attitude and became excited about learning and pursuing her educational and career goals.”

After completing her HSE, Vivian took two summer college classes at Northeast. She jumped in with the same vigor she had shown for music classes, recalls her English instructor, Tina Gambill. “Vivian was the youngest in my summer class but one of the most motivated,” says Gambill. “I know that she will continue to succeed. She proves that no matter the obstacles, success is possible with perseverance.”

After completing the summer classes, Vivian enrolled as a full-time student to pursue her passion. And, of course, to play music – she auditioned for and was accepted into Northeast’s marching band. Band director Bryan Mitchell recalls how Vivian – who is still only 16 years old as of this writing – allayed his initial concerns. “Vivian has definitely impressed me since coming to Northeast and joining the Tiger Band,” Mitchell says. “With her being as young as she was, I didn’t know how she would adjust

to college classes and being a part of something as big as a college band, but she did a great job. She kept up with her classes and fulfilled the expectations of the band. And she loves music! She came and fit right in, and I think being in our music program helped her make friends. I’m very proud of her and I know she will do great things in life.”

Vivian works hard and accomplishes much. And she has no plans of letting up. “My mom told me the other day, ‘I think you’re going to get burned out,’” she says. “I said, ‘No, I just started.’ I just feel… free. And like I’m doing something now.”

What advice does Vivian, so young but so wise, have for adult learners who might be considering earning their GED or HiSET diploma? “It’s worth it,” she says. “It’s really worth it. It’s not as hard as people think. You have to put effort in, but it’s not super stressful. Y’all don’t make it stressful.”

“Even if you just have that [a high-school equivalency diploma],” she adds, “it’ll get you further than not having a diploma of any kind.”

If Vivian’s accomplishments are any indication, much further. One might even become a great student. Or a great teacher.

ADULT EDUCATION

STATISTICS AT NORTHEAST

Northeast's Adult Education Program offers various avenues to enhance the skills and abilities of individuals, preparing them for the workforce or additional educational opportunities. To be competitive in today's work environment, individuals must prepare themselves in math, reading, writing, communication, teamwork and computer skills. The Adult Education (A.E.) programs – A.E. & Basic Skills, Career Pathways, WIOA Gateway, and MIBEST (Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training) – provide the needed assistance in developing these skills and abilities for individuals to move effectively into diverse work settings. These skills are taught through the Smart Start and Adult Education classes.

FOR MORE INFO

662-720-7184

NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE

ADULT EDUCATION DIRECTORY

ANGELA BASS

IET Career Pathway Coordinator & Data Specialist

DEANNE DROKE

Smart Start Instructor & Gateway Career Coach

MEGAN HARGETT

Adult Education Academic Assistant

JACLYN MEEKS

Smart Start Instructor & Adult Edu. Data Input Assistant

KIM SMITH

Adult Education Assistant Director & Lead Instructor

SHANNA COLE

Adult Education Instructor

KARRI DAVIS

Adult Education Instructor & Gateway Career Coach

SHAWN DAVIS

Adult Education Instructor & Gateway Career Coach

RACHEL EMBREY

Adult Education Instructor

IRENE HARRELL Adult Education Academic Assistant

CHAD NOLAN

Smart Start Instructor & Gateway Career Coach

NIKKI SPEARS

Adult Education Academic Assistant

CASSANDRA EVANS

WIOA Youth Gateway Coordinator

AMANDA JANES

MIBEST & Career Navigator & Gateway Career Coach

KRISTIN REESE

Adult Education Academic Assistant & HSE Examiner

BETH WARD

Adult Education Academic Assistant

SHERRY FLOYD

Adult Education Instructor

LAURIE KESLER

Adult Education Director

CHARLIE SMART

College & Career Navigator & Marketing Specialist

The Mississippi Partnership is an equal opportunity employer/program; auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Those needing TDD assistance may call 202.693.6515.

Northeast Mississippi Community College WIOA Youth Gateway Program is funded through the Mississippi Partnership Workforce Board and Three Rivers Planning & Development District, Inc.

In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX, Educational Amendments of 1972 of the Higher Education Act; and, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Board of Trustees of Northeast Mississippi Community College has adopted this policy assuring that no one shall, on the grounds of race, color, age, national origin, or sex, be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination in any program or activity of the College. Northeast Mississippi Community College adheres to the principle of equal educational and employment opportunity without regard to race, sex, age, color, creed, or national origin. This policy includes the qualified handicapped and extends to all programs and activities supported by the College. The Section 504 Coordinator is Leigh Ann Stewart, Wright Hall (662) 720-7192 and the Title IX Coordinator is Liz Calvery, (662) 720-7443.