LAFAYETTE, La. — Most of us are well aware of how challenging graduating high school can be, especially when faced with difficult life barriers.
Alicia Winzy is no stranger to those barriers, and yet, on her 19th birthday, she walked across the stage and was handed her diploma.
"When I was little, I lost both of my parents. I started living with my aunt, and it was a little hard," Winzy said.
She wasn't dealt an easy hand in life, but her education remained a priority.
"It affected me a lot, but I didn't give up because before my dad died, he told me 'Get your high school diploma. Make me proud.' And that's exactly what I did," Winzy said.
Though it wasn't easy, and she needed some extra support, which led her to the W.D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center.
"The career center is an extension of the high schools in Lafayette Parish. We focus on helping students build their skills, earn credentials and launch their careers," said Holly Boffy, principal at the career center.
And for Winzy, that focus made a difference.
"Coming to the career center helped me a lot because it's really nice people here," Winzy said. "They really want you to strive for greatness, and they want you to believe in yourself no matter what you go through."
Even when you've been through what Winzy has.
"To imagine a 19-year-old that has to face the world without her parents or the kind of support system that my own children have, that really gets to me, and it makes me want to figure out what do we need to do, what do we need to put in place to help her be successful," Boffy said.
For Winzy, what was needed was one-on-one support and encouragement to try on different things until something fit.
"I started as a CNA, but I ain't like it, so my senior year, I took medical assistant. I like it, but I ain't pass the exam, so then after that, I took EMR...I passed the test," Winzy said.
And, with passed test came graduation, which brought big, positive feelings for Winzy.
"Butterflies. Excitement. Tears of joy. Happiness. I was just excited," she said.
The W.D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center offers students opportunities in several programs:
- Auto tech
- Auto paint and body
- Carpentry
- Cosmetology
- Culinary
- Electrical
- HVAC
- Machining/CIM
- Medical
- Pre-educator
- Robotics
- Welding
To learn more about the career center, visit their website here.
