Read about Brittni Jackson who earned her High School Equivalency Diploma at College of The Albemarle (COA) while working a full-time job and caring for her child.
Brittni Jackson had to leave high school when she was 16, to help take care of her ailing mother. A few years later, the Florida native was ready to complete her high school education, but life had other plans for her.
“I was getting ready to go back to school and realized I was pregnant,” said Jackson, who was 19 at the time. “I put everything on hold.”
She again put off earning her High School Equivalency Diploma to raise her son and got married three years later.
Eventually, Jackson, her husband and son moved to Edenton. One day last year, Jackson came home to discover her husband had left her. With no savings to fall back on — and no high school diploma — Jackson realized it was finally time for her to pursue her education.
Last July, she earned her High School Equivalency from COA. But the pursuit wasn’t an easy one, Jackson admitted, as a single mom working a full-time job.
“It was very difficult,” she said. “I juggled life, I didn’t get much sleep. I worked nights and went to school during the day.”
Jackson, who works full time at Patricia’s Grille in Hertford, was allowed to work a flexible schedule while she studied for her High School Equivalency. But more than that, her boss encouraged her throughout her studies, especially when she wanted to quit the program.
“He stayed on me about it,” Jackson said. “There were days I wanted to give up, but he wouldn’t let me.”
Also encouraging Jackson, were her College and Career Readiness (formerly Basic and Transitional Studies) instructors at COA. They pushed her along the way, she said, and if she missed a class, they called to check on her, offering encouragement.
“They wouldn’t let me give up,” said Jackson. “They made it as easy as possible. They let me study at my own pace. I couldn’t have done it without them. The teachers are what made it.”
On the days she wanted to give up, her COA instructors also reminded her of her goal.
“There were days I would lose sight, but they would remind me why I was doing it and would ask how my son was.”
Her son, who was 6 at the time, was her main motivation and ultimately the reason she pushed through her studies. He was struggling in school too, so Jackson said they would spend afternoons doing homework together.
“He would think he was helping me do my homework,” Jackson said, adding that she was trying to set a good example for her son. “It showed him what it takes in life. That was one of my inspirations to go back to school, to show him that if I can do it, he can do it.”
And Jackson isn’t done setting goals for herself. This fall, she’s enrolling in COA’s Phlebotomy Pathway Diploma program, planning again for long nights working and going to classes during the day. She knows the effort is worth it, and now, so does her son.
“He wants to know when I’m graduating,” Jackson said. “He’s excited and he wants to do it too.”