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A Ticket to the Stars
This Indiana Woman is Helping Others Climb Higher, Too
When the Indiana factory where Vicki Jackson worked closed its doors, her co-workers grieved the loss of their jobs to Mexico. But Jackson found that being laid off gave her the opportunity to get the high school diploma she had left behind some 40 years before.
Jackson, a resident of North Manchester, Ind., had attended all 12 years of high school but left before graduating. Her lack of a high school diploma wasn't a concern with her factory job but it mattered a great deal when she re-entered the job market.
Jackson began working with the Learn More Center in North Manchester. It wasn't easy. "I was embarrassed and I was scared about having to go back to school at this age, and start something I had been away from for years," Jackson says.
Less than two years after the layoff, however, Jackson had earned her GED and immediately began to put it to use. First she started tutoring two 13-year-old boys in English. Then she produced a newsletter for adult learners, You're Never Too Old to Learn. Its subtitle, GED, Jackson says stands for "Git 'Er Done." The publication provides a showcase for students' articles, poetry, and stories. In addition to all that, Jackson hosts a weekly movie discussion group in her home.
Debra Brauneller, literacy coordinator for Wabash County Literacy Connections, a ProLiteracy America affiliate, says Jackson's resiliency is remarkable.
"Vicki is very outgoing and willing to take on new, challenging activities," Brauneller says.
Of all her extra activities, it's the newsletter that Jackson loves most. She attended the "Put Pizzazz in Your Newsletter" workshop at the ProLiteracy America annual conference in Tucson, Ariz. to pick up ideas for improving her publication. She loves interviewing students, teachers, and program staff. She publishes their recipes, poetry, and anything else they submit—after she corrects their spelling. Working on the newsletter has strengthened Jackson's keyboarding and computer skills, which were weak before she started.
Now that she has earned her GED, Jackson has set new goals. She wants to take a college-level business course, and follow that with teaching a basic literacy class. She also wants to finish writing her autobiography.
If any other adults are wondering whether now might be a good time to return to school, Jackson has this advice: "Don't be scared to do it, and never give up. Once you start, just keep reaching, because you can go to the stars if you just hang in there, breathe deep, and keep working at it."
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