"I was pregnant, and my pregnancy brain was no joke," she says. "I was studying, but I wasn't remembering. I should have taken my vitamins and continued, but no. I gave up."
Over the next four years, Vanessa started and stopped the program multiple times. She would become overwhelmed and withdraw. Then, inspired by a nephew or niece's high school graduation, she would begin again. The pattern continued until she asked for help. She remembers, "I told my NEDP assessor, 'I need a tutor and I need it now, because I'm about to give up!'"
A busy mother of three, Vanessa had picked up extra shifts in her job as a school bus driver. She was working from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with only short breaks, and the days were not only long, but stressful as well. "Elementary and middle school kids are no joke," she laughs. "Also, my youngest is with me 24/7. I take him with me on the school bus. I would try to study on breaks, and he would say, 'Mommy, I need this,' or 'Mommy, I need that.'"
When Vanessa requested help, her NEDP assessor referred her to Literacy for Life, and she was matched with her tutor, Steve.
"Literacy for Life and Steve made it possible for me to finish high school," she says.
Steve provided Vanessa with constant encouragement. "He would text me to remind me that we were meeting that day. I would have forgotten, but he always reminded me. Then he would text again and say, 'I'm ready!' I would meet him even if I didn't feel like it. He was always pushing me, telling me that I could do it, reminding me that I was almost done. He was always there for me."
Steve accommodated Vanessa's busy work and family schedule, as well as her need to meet online. When necessary, they met early on Saturday mornings or evenings after work. When they had technical difficulties, or lost their wifi connection, he was undaunted. "He would call my cell and say, 'We got disconnected at this part, let's keep going.'"
Steve thoroughly enjoyed working with Vanessa: "She is a delight!" He especially admires her persistence and determination. "She kept plugging away and plugging away," he says. "Sometimes, when we were meeting, I could see she was wearing her safety vest and was sitting in a school bus seat. That is commitment."
As Vanessa neared completion of her diploma, she shared a concern about making her final tuition payment so that she could receive her diploma. Literacy for Life connected her with the Williamsburg Soroptimist Club, which invited her to apply for scholarship funding. "We are so happy for Vanessa and that we were able to help her complete her journey," says Soroptimist board member, Dr. Jeanice Bryant. "It is apparent she had a lot of positive support along the way. We wish her the best in beginning her journey into college."
And college bound she is! Vanessa says that she initially pursued an adult diploma to please her mother--but she has developed a love of learning and can see her own potential. "I want to go to college and study accounting," she says. "I don't want to get my bachelor's; I want to get my master's I want to go all the way to the top!"
