Stories from Northland Pioneer College

Stories from Northland Pioneer College, Appreciation

February 2, 2006

Adult education means a lot to me. It has given me new hope for a more successful future. It has also given me bigger and brighter thoughts on everyday life. Fore example, reading is no longer a wonder but a reality. I firs learned about the adult education classes from watching Arizona PBS station on TV. The Northland Pioneer College advertisement showed me an opportunity to fulfill a longtime dream. After being tested, my instructor decided to have me begin taking classes in English, History, Math, and Reading. I began making my dream come true. Reading helped me learn to be persistent about moving forward. History gave me an understanding of how our country began and how it grew into the wonderful country it is today. Math has proved a very useful skill that I use in everyday life. English has helped my vocabulary and grammar. My instructors at NPC have been very helpful, positive, and encouraging. The have greatly helped to improve my comprehension of the subjects I have studied.

Pete Roach

December 2005

I am from a small community named Pinon in the northeastern part of the Navajo reservation. I am 27 years old and a single mother of a 10-year-old son.

I had to drop out of school 10 years ago, because I was making a lot of bad decisions. I never really went to school everyday like I should have. I hated all my classes and teachers, but somehow I had good grades. I never had good friends in my eighth grade year and I always was in trouble with other students. I was a class bully in school back then.

I met my son’s father and started living with him at his house during summer vacation and stayed there until December. I tried hard to keep myself in school. In January I found out I was pregnant and I had to make the hardest decisions in my life. I dropped out of school, because I didn’t want others to know I was going to have a baby. To me that was a big embarrassment, but deep inside of me I wanted to go back to school. But I had made up my mind to be with my son’s father and marry him. Marriage was the big word to my family. They wanted me to be with him forever, I guess!

He and I only stayed together for six months and then we both went our own ways. From that day forward I decided to go back to school or do something for my son and myself. For the whole nine years my son was growing up I stayed home taking care of him and being there for him.

In 2001 I gave up consent of my child to my aunt for two years, because I needed to find my way in this world. I was doing a lot of drugs, I thought I wasn’t fit to be a mother to my son and I was always going places with my friends. I had to find my own way out of this drug addiction to get help. I had to stay home where my aunt could keep an eye on me. I promised my son on New Year’s night that I would stop doing all these bad things. It was really hard to give up all my bad friends and drugs I was used to.

In 2005 I moved to Holbrook to start a new life with my only son. I enrolled myself in GED class at Northland Pioneer College and I am trying to get my GED so I can live a better way in life for my son. I got help from the Navajo Nation TANF. I was getting welfare for my son and they really helped me to see I can get on my own feet and stand up for myself. I had to do something for myself. When I started my classes, I thought to myself, “I will get my GED someday.”

I never really thought I would be in a place like this where I get all the help from my GED instructor and other people on the NPC campus. I had a lot of problems with math and writing, but now I think it is so easy. I can now help my son with math problems I never knew how to do before. I can help him out with his writing too. The classes I am taking have helped me out in a lot of ways. My GED instructor showed me the deep roots of math and writing. I feel like I am getting there and I can’t wait. I know there are a lot of other teenagers who dropped out of school and think there is nothing out there in the world for them, but if you put your mind to it and think that you will do it, you will accomplish a lot of things that you thought you would never do. I have accomplished a lot in one year to know I am not weak and I am getting myself to the better life I promised my son.

My son is the one who pushes me everyday to get to class and learn something new. A GED is something that will open a lot of doors to me in my future.

Leatrice Begay

Holbrook, AZ

February 2, 2006

My name is Elizabeth Sample. I am 61 years old. I am a mother and grandmother. I am very grateful to be in an Adult Education Program. I have been in the program for four years and the teachers are great. When I first came into the program I was shy and embarrassed. Now I can say that I hold my head up high. I will be able to get a good job with this program and get my GED. Without this program I would not have the opportunity to get my GED.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Sample

Holbrook, AZ