A Short Story : Betty Ann Overton

My mother worked four jobs at once to make financial ends meet, while always stressing the importance of education and financial independence to my brother and myself. My grandmother only achieved a second grade education due to the financial constraints on her family at a young age, but still in the end managed to make certain that of her children and grandchildren had what was needed to flourish and become successful, educated members of the community. The tenacity and history of these two women I still carry with me today. Their struggles have inspired to me to only want more from life, but also serve as a positive role model for the younger members of my community. I observed from other family members how an education can open a multitude of doors and opportunities. I want to make the biggest and most significant on my community and on my family as possible, and the only foreseeable path is to achieve a college education to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and connections needed to flourish and implement positive

Neither of my parents attended college, but my sister became a nurse and created a glass ceiling that I never thought I would be able to shatter. As I was pushed towards a nursing degree and told that it was “good enough” I failed and blundered through my first few years of college. I didn’t want to be a nurse and I knew that in my heart I wouldn’t be happy with the profession, so I took a break and became a nanny for a child with autism. I traveled the world with this little boy and after two years had passed I became more confident and ready to fight for my dreams.

Because of my parent’s humble beginnings in the south and being ever so present during the Civil Rights era, education was very important in my household. My father would often say that education and knowledge could never be taken away from you once you have acquired it. He himself, only had a 3rd grade formal education but yet at the same time was a modern day math wizard. He was the second to the oldest out of eleven children so he chose to continually work the fields so that his younger siblings didn’t have to and they would have the opportunity to attend school during the day. My mother continually pursued higher education and received her Associates of Arts degree as an adult. Later in life, as a senior citizen she also attended South Suburban College in South Holland, Illinois and enrolled in a couple courses in Computer Training and

Education has always been highly valued by my family but opportunities for academic achievement were not always available to every member of my immediate family. My mother was the first one in her family to go to college and get advanced degrees. My father did not pursue anything further than high school. I keep these circumstances in mind as I further my learning and strive for a better education through hard work. In doing so, I can help pave paths for future generations of students in my family. Opportunities at NCSSM and other outside sources will push me even more to gain as much knowledge as possible; ultimately leading to a higher educational career. Additionally, I have completed a majority of my education with the aid of my mother

My mother, Lisa Dawn Hicks Kern, was born at Wadley Regional Medical Center, Texarkana, TX, on Sunday, June 15, 1969. Her father, James Kenneth Hicks, was 28 at the time of my mother’s birth; he was employed at Red River Army Depot as an electrical engineer. Her mother, Sharon Lee Clark Hicks, was 25 when my mother was born, at the time she was the home maker. My mother had an older sister who was a four year old toddler at the time of my mother’s birth. Kimberly Ann Hicks was born at Wadley Regional Medical Center, Texarkana, TX, on Monday, August 30, 1965.

The Author, Studipta Bardhan, of this text chose to structure the main character’s life by dividing it into five areas. She started out with Betty Marie Tallchief’s childhood and personal life. Then, she told about how Betty Marie’s personal life changed. Then, this allowed her to blend in her professional life and why she changed her first name to Maria. Even so, she stayed true to the heritage her grandmother instilled in her as a small child and kept her Osage Indian last name as Tallchief in both her personal and professional life. The structure of the text helped me to really get to know her, not just know about her.

Later as an adolescent, I was an active member of my high school’s Girls Football team and Volleyball. I attend a post-secondary institution right after high school; I received my Medical Assistance Certification from Star Technical Institute in Whitehall, PA. I pursue my dreams of obtaining the education I had always desired and found a great job in the medical assistance field. Another event, which shifted my life forever, was accepting a marriage proposal at a young age and marrying in 1991. I made it clear from the beginning that my education was very important to me and marriage would not stand in the way of my pursuing post-secondary studies or even completing high school. When I announced my engagement due to my pregnancy I was, determine to complete all my studies to make a better life for my son. I became a mother in February 1991 and continued to work as a Manager for a retail store until my husband, who had been unemployed since our marriage, found work. When he secured employment, it gave me the financial flexibility to pursue my dream of attaining higher education, In July 1992. Working in the medical field, you gain so much knowledge and then transferring into the mortgage career, I gained lots of experience. My last job I went back to the medical field as that was the quickest job I can find in my area that was hiring. I was so nervous due to not knowing anyone and having to relearn everything all over

The path to success for Lillian involved a lot of sacrifice. Lillian was born into a family where her mother and father were professionals. Her family lived in a rich community and could afford to send Lillian to whichever school she chose. Lillian and her family were Jewish and lived in Ohio; moreover she chose to attend The New York Hospital School of Nursing. After completing a nursing program, she began working in a rural Jewish community where many immigrants needed more support than what they were receiving (Wilkerson, 1993). After noticing the need in the community, she moved into the rural neighborhood and began offering in home services at a reasonable rate. Later she opened the Henry Street Settlement which

For this project I interviewed my mom, Lynn Pasko. During the course of doing this project and going through the questions, it made me realize how much I didn’t know about my mother. It never occurred to me how times have changed and how different things are now. I learned a lot about my mother that I did not know. Some of these include how my mother moved schools every year of her schooling up until her last half of junior year. I couldn’t imagine having to go to a new school every year. Not to mention how many friends she lost contact with and how hard it was to be the new kid every year. Another thing that had really surprised me was the hardest that she had to do. The hardest thing my mother had to do was after 9/11 happened, she had to write goodbye letters to my sister and I in case anything had happened to them on their way to Hawaii. Both my mother and father thought about taking different planes just incase if something happened to one of them, the other would still be there for me and my sister.

Growing up my family had little to no money. My parents, immigrants from El Salvador, worked two jobs each. Home was a small space with a conjoined kitchen and living room. When Mom and Dad first arrived to America, they never imagined a child of theirs would become a university student. Coming to America itself was in their wildest dreams. To them, an education of that level was unattainable. Now, I represent my family wherever I go. I am at TWU for my family and for my dreams. One day, I will be the Nurse Practitioner I always envisioned. But more importantly, I will give my parents and my grandmother everything they never had. Now that I am older I comprehend the magnitude of their sacrifices. When I hear the name Texas Woman’s University,

My granny was the only person in my family to have a college degree. I am the second because of her. From middle school on we talked about college, where I would go, and what I would do when I grew up. Parents encourage careers that lead to the greatest profit, mine were no different. My granny never encouraged me to choose a career based on the profit. She only encouraged me to choose what made me happy. Life had it’s own plan and some things changed how my educational journey would pan out, but that didn’t make it impossible. Because of her I knew anything was

Born on August 4, 1920 in Winchester Kentucky, Helen was the seventh of nine children. When Helen was a young child the family relocated to Michigan and her father opened his own grocery store to support the family. Helen’s parents instilled in their children the importance of a good education and strong work ethic and Helen was an excellent student. It was during her high school years that Helen decided to become a journalist and was a reporter for her High School newspaper. In Helen’s memoir, she stated that a high school teacher “praised her work” (Thomas 47) which further boosted her confidence in becoming a journalist.

Mrs. Betty Thomas is a seventy-three-year-old African American female who was born on April 17, 1942, in San Bernardino, CA. She was born into a family of nine children, six girls and three boys. I conducted the interview in the Thomas family home where Mrs. Thomas and her immediate family have resided in for fifty-five years. Her husband of over 50 years is deceased, and she misses him dearly. Mrs. Thomas is a tiny frame and short woman who stands about 5 feet, 105 pounds or less. She stands with no slump in here posture.  Her appearance was very comfortable dressed attire, black socks and not shoes.  Her home is well kept, tidy and scented with the smell of beef stew coming from a slow cooker on the kitchen counter. The home is in the midst of a working middle-class neighborhood; furnished with modern casual furniture, along with photographs of close family members spread throughout the living room and hallway area.

It was the end of the weekend. Her dad had been drinking a lot, so she decided to leave for the night with her friends. When she came back on Monday at dawn, he was sitting on her bed waiting for her daughter to enter the room and gave her a lesson that she would never forget. The next day she decided without telling anyone but her mother to leave the house and never come back, not until my grandfather would still be a part of this world. Weeks later, she

20 years ago, I was attending St.Joseph School in Wakefield, MA. There was a girl in my class named Anna Scarpello. When we were in class she was studious and always achieved high grades, but that was 20 years ago, in fact, anybody can change into anything in 20 years. I am confident she is successful and has an endless list of accolades. I hope I am not wrong, chances are I 'm not, although, odds never say that one thing will happen, they predict it. I’ve come a long way from graduating St.Joseph’s. Now, you’re probably wondering why I 'm on this topic, in the following paragraphs, it will paint a picture, a beautiful one at that. When Anna was 8th-grade, I recall she wanted to be a Labor Delivery nurse. I thought from my peers this was a