Christy Sanders seeks to inspire
The first class Christy Sanders’ attended in her adult education program changed her life. Before attending her class, Sanders was hesitant and a little embarrassed about enrolling in the program.
“I was nervous. I was embarrassed. I was so many things,” Sanders says reflecting on the moments before her course, “But I just said, ‘Hey, I’m going.’”
Sanders says that her embarrassment stemmed from “just going back to school” and feeling older than her classmates. But that changed.
Sanders was comforted by “seeing people I hadn’t seen for a while” in that pivotal first class. “We ended up coming back to school together,” Sanders says.
Her newfound comfort and support, combined with the encouraging staff at Northeast Mississippi Community College (NMCC) helped motivate her to continue her education.
“[The program] gave me a few good teachers,” Sanders says of Cole and her colleagues. “Y’all believed in us. You pushed us. Even when I said, ‘I can’t do this’, y’all would come back and say, ‘Yes, you can do this.’ Y’all give us all of you. I mean, look at me! So I think y’all have done a great job.”
Sanders’ formal education took a turn in high school. She withdrew from her coursework in the ninth grade to get a head start on her career. She became a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) at a local nursing home and worked there for 14 years.
“I just got off track,” Sanders says.
Sanders soon prioritized furthering her education and began working on her high-school-equivalency diploma. She attended night classes after working all day. But her motivation would not be deterred. She even helped motivate her fellow classmates.
“Christy was such a determined student,” Sanders’ instructor, Shanna Cole, says, “She worked very hard and set high expectations for herself. She was so encouraging to her fellow classmates and always pushed them to give their best.”
After years of hard work, Sanders finally earned her diploma. She then went on to pursue a degree in social work. Currently, Sanders is taking English Composition and College Algebra at Northeast and will enroll full-time this fall.
She has already seen a financial difference from obtaining her diploma. “I was working full-time; now I’m working part-time, and I might have to do that for a while,” she says. “Right now, I can tell a financial difference, but I just say, ‘It’ll get greater later.’”
Sanders is driven by helping others, and although she acknowledges the changes, she may have to make transitioning into her new career, she embraces the challenge.
“Once you get to what you are striving for, all the sacrifices you made will be well worth it,” she says, summing up her approach. “It’s going to be stressful, going from a CNA to a social worker, but at the same time, it’s going to be worth it to face the challenges and build my career. I want to give back in some form, and just be a positive influence in someone else’s life besides my own.”
“In my family,” she goes on, “we have a lot of people who work in the medical field. As a child, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do; when I started working as a CNA, it gave me a vision. Seeing people with no voice, who may or may not have anyone visit them, as a social worker, that’s what you’re supposed to be there for: to give.”
Sanders has this to say to anyone considering furthering their education:
“Go for it. You can do it. I did it. You can do it, too.”
