Hannah worked at a grocery store from the time she was a teenager to a young adult. She dropped out of high school for many different reasons but ultimately just did not want to go.
“As years went by, getting my diploma went to the back of my mind. I did think about it a lot, had nightmares, and even had dreams that I did graduate with my class; only to wake up knowing that I didn’t.”
Hannah saw all of her friends attending college and moving on with their lives while she was still stuck in her small hometown of Haines, Alaska.
“An opportunity opened where my sister, who just got done with a dental assistant program, came to me and asked if I wanted to do the training program and that they were interested in my potential.”
Unfortunately, Hannah did not have her diploma so she could not participate in the program. However, she lucked out.
“They went out of their way and jumped through many loopholes to get me into the program. The only thing I had to do was earn my diploma by the end of the schooling. Long story short, I earned my diploma in four months and also graduated my dental assistant training program. I passed my GED test on the same day I graduated!”
Her life has now changed in so many positive ways. She is a dental assistant working in Southeast Alaska and her future has taken off.
“I never thought I could do it, I never thought I could succeed through any goals, but with the help, support of my family, and most of all, believing in myself, I did do it. I put it off and came up with excuses why I couldn’t get my GED, but it was just me and only me that was stopping myself.
Hannah believes that the hardest step through the process was changing her negative mindset to a positive one.
“I started thinking positive, asking for help and believing I could actually do it. Now I have never been so happy in my life.”