There are students who enter college a few months after they graduate from high school. There are also people who wait a few years to begin the process of continuing their education. One woman who wasn’t able to follow her dreams and go to college when she wanted to is Latonya Young. She’s a 43-year-old mother of three children. She had her first child at 16 and made the decision to drop out of school.
After having two more children, Latonya obtained her GED and went to school to get her cosmetology license. She also had plans to start working toward a degree at Georgia State University so that she could make a better life for her family. As a single mother who worked and went to school, she found that it was difficult to balance everything in her life.
As a hairstylist, Latonya didn’t have a lot of extra money after paying the monthly bills. At times, she would drive for Uber or Lyft to make extra money. Even though she had to use a budget that was very tight, Latonya managed to continue with her education. Unfortunately, she was in a serious car accident that resulted in her foot being crushed to the point that she was unable to walk. Since Latonya was unable to work, she wasn’t able to pay some of her tuition bills. Before being allowed to continue with her education, she had to pay about $700.
Latonya would save the money to pay the bills, but she would find something that she needed to spend the money on that was more important instead, such as food for her family or shoes and clothes for her children.
While driving for Uber one evening, Latonya picked up a man outside a stadium after a sporting event had ended. The man was moving from one city to another, talking to Latonya about events in his life and how things were changing rather quickly.
Latonya talked to the man about going back to college and the obstacles that stood in her way. The man offered his encouragement and told her that she could do anything she wanted, leaving her a $150 tip to help with her educational needs. With the money she received, Latonya paid off most of her bills so that she could continue to pursue her dream of graduating from college. As she was on her way to the campus to give the financial department money, she got a text from the man who left her the tip. He paid her balance so that she could start fresh. Soon, Latonya took a picture with the man at her graduation ceremony.
