Nothing stops Yolanda Huston | News

THOMASVILLE, GA- With the state of the economy the last few years, more south Georgians have chosen to go back to school.

Whether it's to earn a PHD or a GED, many folks are proving it's never too late to learn.

Meet 36-year old Yolanda Huston.

Huston says she dropped out of high school when she was 16 because large crowds produced extreme anxiety for her. "My parents never encouraged us to finish high school. It was, once we got a certain age it was always do whatever you want to do. There was no encouragement."

Huston worked in retail until last year when she decided to enroll at Southwest Georgia Tech.

She excelled in her GED coursework, earning the 2012 EAGLE Award. "To see someone else recognize something in you that you don't see is really encouraging cause sometimes you don't see something in yourself that other people can see in you," said Huston.

But just days after accepting her award, the unthinkable happened. "I was turning into the driveway where I live and I was on a bicycle. I got hit head on by a truck and when it hit the bicycle it took me up in the air and I landed back on the street," said Huston.

Huston says she was blessed to survive the accident, but she suffered a severe leg injury.

After undergoing surgery and physical therapy, Huston thought about giving up on school. "Once I got through feeling sorry for myself, I had to kind of look at it both ways and kind of talk to myself. You know you've it made it this far, if you quit, how would that look?"

Huston remarkably only missed one class after her ordeal and that's why her teacher nominated her for Student of the Semester.

"She walked to school. Rode her bike to school. Whether it was raining or not. And than after the accident because she kept coming back and going online. She had the dedication and determination to finish her class and not let this one incident stop her from coming to school," said Instructor Chris Parrish.

Huston says she still has trouble getting to and from school, but after everything she's been through, she'll never give up.

Huston graduated Thursday night with her GED and is now taking full credit courses at Southeast Georgia Tech.

She hopes one day to own her own beauty supply store.

Copyright 2012 WALB.  All rights reserved.