Speaker: Shanicqua C.
What motivated you to go back to high school at this time in your life? Why did you choose this program?
Shanicqua C.: I have eight children and sometimes my kids can get a little off with their school work. And the fact that I dropped out of school in 10th grade to become a full-time mom because I had no one to watch my child for me, my first son. So I decided that well, I mean, in order to be a good, a good influence or, or a good role model to my children is for me to go back to school myself and pursue my, pursue my education and better myself so that my kids can look at me and say, well, hey, if mama can do it, then I know I can do it.
What parts of the program helped you make it to graduation?
Shanicqua C.: I would definitely recommend using the tutor with Graduation Alliance because when you're feeling like, hey, I don't get this, I can't do this, they're there 24/7 and they're going to help you through it all. They're going to show you what needs to be done. They were a big help for me. I mean, some of the other work was kinda hard but I got through it. I pushed through it and I did my best to work as hard as I could to get through it. And when I couldn't get it and I felt like, hey, I can't do this. I relied on my tutor and they were such a big help.
How has your life and/or mindset changed since earning your high school diploma?
Shanicqua C.: It's made me feel more confident in the things that I can and I can't do because I would always tell myself you're never gonna get anywhere you go, you're not gonna make it. But you can do anything you put your mind to. And I put my mind to that and I focused and I worked hard and I did it and I'm proud of myself. I am a whole lot more confident than I have ever been in my life now that I finished high school and I've got my diploma.
What are your plans now that you’ve graduated?
Shanicqua C.: I want to go to college for two things. Actually, I want to go to college to be a preschool teacher and I also want to go to college for medical coding.
What's one piece of encouragement you'd offer someone who is considering this program?
Shanicqua C.: If you want to go back to school and you want to further your education, I would definitely recommend Graduation Alliance because hey, the biggest thing is it's totally free. They don't charge you anything. They're basically giving you the opportunity to go back to school and further your education. They're giving you the opportunity to better yourself. So I would definitely recommend it and I would recommend that never let anyone tell you that you can't do anything because you can do anything you put your mind to. No one's ever a dummy. You're never a dummy. So I would definitely recommend don't listen to anybody who tells you, you can't do this because you can. You put your mind to it. You work hard. You push yourself. Get you someone... Get you some people around you who's going to motivate you. Some people who's going to be there to help you, to push you, someone who's going to be there to support you. Get you a big support system. It doesn't even matter if you have one person, get you a support system because the support system helps a lot. I my biggest support system with my children. They were there and they were happy to help me. They were happy to be there and say, oh mama is trying to graduate. Mama, you can do this. Get you a support system and keep your mind focused and just push yourself daily because you can do anything you put your mind to.
