{"id":6684,"date":"2017-05-22T08:30:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T12:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=6684"},"modified":"2017-05-25T12:38:06","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T16:38:06","slug":"class-2017-alc-student-encourages-think-positive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/class-2017-alc-student-encourages-think-positive\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 2017: ALC student encourages all to \u2018think positive\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By all accounts, Kiara White was quiet and withdrawn when she enrolled in GED preparation classes at the Adult Learning Center (ALC) more than a year ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought maybe she was shy,\u201d recalled ALC instructor Sandra Turner. \u201cShe didn\u2019t want to collaborate or partner with anyone. She just wanted to sit off by herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was not long before Turner understood that White\u2019s quiet nature\u00a0was based on her experiences at a high school in another city.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter talking with her and getting to know her, she did reveal to me that she was bullied. She made the choice to just stop going to school. Then she came here, and she thought the same thing would happen here.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to White, she found the exact opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love this school, this environment,\u201d White said beaming with a broad smile. \u201cIt\u2019s just so awesome because they don\u2019t judge you. They don\u2019t judge you. They give you advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel like I\u2019m taking 20 steps forward and none back because I just keep thinking positive, positive, positive,\u201d continued White. \u201cI have gained a lot of confidence and I want more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
White and Turner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She\u00a0credits her ALC teachers and staff for that confidence and identified\u00a0them by name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had Mrs. Applebee, then I had Ms. Turner, then I had Ms. McLeod. Ms. Crystal at the front, she\u2019s always<\/em> been there for me, and Mrs. Little has always been there for me. My classmates have been there for me. It\u2019s just a positive environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

White acknowledged she wasn\u2019t open to their support at first.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a learning disability. I didn\u2019t let people know when I came here because that\u2019s part of the reason I was bullied,\u201d White shared. \u201cI felt bad for myself. That\u2019s kind of my fault because I knew I was coming into a new environment and I didn\u2019t give them a chance to know me for me and my struggles. I just held it in. I didn\u2019t let them in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same people she didn\u2019t let in now describe her as \u201cbubbly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was totally the opposite of what you see today,\u201d recalled ALC GED Coordinator Heather Lamb of\u00a0meeting White and her mother the day White enrolled.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s been pushing and pushing and pushing and really doing the things she needed to do…always here and always encouraging other people. She\u2019s just a great young person and has been an awesome student. I\u2019m excited for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Even more excited for White is her family, which she also credited for her success.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom, my mom is the best mom ever because she is just so positive every day,\u201d gushed White. \u201cMy sister Kianna is the same way. She\u2019s so supportive, too. My aunts, my uncles, my whole family is very supportive. I felt like I let them down because I took so long, but I didn\u2019t. My family was so happy when I passed \u2013 ALL<\/em> my family, and I have a big family.<\/p>\n

Similar to talking about her teachers, White identified family members by name when describing her journey to earn her GED.<\/p>\n

Uncle Derek. Godmother Jenny. Uncle James. Aunt Serena. Uncle Charlie. Aunt Pam. Granddaddy. Four brothers. Four sisters. More uncles. More aunts. Too many cousins to count. Even a guinea pig named Oreo.<\/p>\n

White, who never stops smiling, continued to explain.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy uncle Derek is like a father figure to me. All my uncles love me but he\u2019s the one who\u00a0really knows all my dreams because I see him the most,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy granddaddy, he\u2019s my best friend because he shows me how strong he is. He\u2019s paralyzed and he doesn\u2019t let that get him down,\u201d White shared. \u201cHe likes to be independent, on his own, and that\u2019s how I want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mom studied with her. Her sister Kianna studied with her. Her cousins studied with her. One cousin brought her a Care Bear, White\u2019s favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family told me: \u2018You can do this! You can do this!\u2019 My cousins said: \u2018You gotta study! You gotta study!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brothers and sister really kept me going. I didn\u2019t want to disappoint them. I wanted them to know, I can do it. I\u2019m not going to give up. I didn\u2019t want my nieces and nephews looking at me and saying, \u2018Well, you\u2019re the only one who didn\u2019t graduate.\u2019 I just wanted to show them that I could do it!\u201d<\/p>\n

And she did.<\/p>\n

On April 18, the young woman who enthusiastically describes her\u00a0personal role models became a role model herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I passed, my mom started crying. I started crying. My family was so happy. I felt like I let them down because I took so long, but I didn\u2019t. My aunt said, \u2018I\u2019m so proud of you! I\u2019m so proud of you!\u2019 My brother said, \u2018That\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about!\u2019 All my cousins, my brothers and sisters, they\u2019re so proud of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most importantly, \u201cI\u2019m just so proud of myself,\u201d added\u00a0White.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

She will be among those to walk across the stage in a graduation gown at the ALC\u2019s GED Recognition Ceremony May 24. Her proud family members will be there as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many tickets can I have?\u201d Lamb said White asked after sharing the good news of her\u00a0GED exam results.<\/p>\n

The ALC ceremony won\u2019t be the final stop on\u00a0White\u2019s educational journey. She talks about enrolling in Tidewater Community College and becoming a veterinarian. She has spent time volunteering at a local SPCA shelter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to give up and just be a dropout. You have to do something in life and I have so many dreams,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

White\u00a0also has advice for others who may find themselves feeling like she did before she came to the ALC.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be scared. Take your chances. Not every place is negative and sometimes you just have to take that jump to understand: \u2018Oh wow, the world is not all negative. There is positivity in the world.\u2019 So I would tell you: don\u2019t be scared; take the jump and think positive!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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