"I'm grateful for all that Cabrini has done," were the first words out of Janice's mouth to a roomful of people today in our Gathering Room. We were there to celebrate Janice's graduation. After 4 years of hard work, she had obtained her GED. At age 56.
In the beginning, Janice had decided to begin with the math section, "because I can add, subtract, multiply and divide really well." But the geometry baffled her and she set math aside. Janice began working with Alice, one of our volunteer tutors. One by one, she studied each subject and passed the test. Janice finished where she began - with math. She passed with flying colors.
Joining in the celebration were her family, friends and Cabrini staff. Members of her church were there also. Her pastor remembered the first time she met Janice. And that when she started to volunteer at the church, "She took over organizing our clothes closet. She was really good at it and I decided I should just stay out of her way."
Floyd was also there. Janice worked for him many years ago and he remembered what a good worker she was.
Joining in the congratulations were other Cabrini clients and alumni. One described watching her, "go off to school first thing in the morning. It didn't matter if it was raining or 20 below. She went to class. It inspired me when I went back to school. If it was raining or I didn't feel like getting up, I thought about Janice. So I went...thank you, Janice."
Indeed, thanks to Janice we saw today that determination, hard work, a willingness to accept the support of others and the resiliency of the human spirit can make dreams come true.
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