I was reminded about something I had forgotten about. How when I was in the 10th grade I had planned to drop out of school. The thought came back to me when I was asked to emcee a cap toss ceremony for graduates of an adult education program. These were students who had earned their GED.
Arkansas actually has an impressive track record when it comes to its Department of Career Education, Adult Education Division. In 2017, 87 percent of Arkansans passed their GED test and received a High School diploma. Many of these students chose to pursue postsecondary education and high-skilled, higher paying jobs compared to their non GED counterparts.
During the ceremony we heard from graduate, Makiya Wilkerson. She gave a heart wrenching speech about how people closest to her often said she would never amount to anything. They — including some family members — tried to make her feel she could never achieve the status of a high school diploma earner. She told her fellow students that sometimes you have to walk away from people who try to diminish your hopes and dreams. I could tell her dreams are deep seeded in her heart and now she’s headed to college.
Being around these students reminded me how easily I could have ended up in their position. So I told them my story. I told them how in the 10th grade I became pregnant and dropped out of school. As my belly grew bigger I just couldn’t face my classmates anymore. So for a whole two weeks I was absent. It would have lasted indefinitely had it not been for a teacher who told my counselor to contact my parents. She said we can’t let Donna drop out of school — so I ended up going to an educational program designed for girls who were like me — pregnant. After my daughter Queah was born I went back to my high school, graduated with my class and four years later earned a college degree in broadcasting.
I never really talked about it publicly until that graduation day. I really hadn’t thought about it because it seems like a lifetime ago. Life has changed so dramatically since then.
I told those new graduates that if I can accomplish my dreams so can they. Here’s what I tell people all the time – from young students in high school to adults – what ever in life you want to achieve you must desire it in your heart and not just your head. Despite being a teenaged mom, deep in my heart was a dream to have a career in television news. Yes — I felt it in my heart and not just my head and that kept me going through the tough times.
Dreams can formulate in your head but you must feel it in your heart. For many of us when that happens — despite adversity, despite heartbreak, despite disappointment and the people who try to discourage — we become UNSTOPPABLE.
