Lifelong Learning | Quality of Life
You're learning from me, I'm learning from you... We're never too old to learn.
When Ms. Virginia came back to Savannah in 2010, she had two goals in mind: help her mom get a place to live and then focus on finding a job for herself. She soon accomplished both and was eventually working multiple jobs to make ends meet, one to pay off her debts and the other to help her get by.
“I was [taking the bus] every day, even when I had to get off at eleven,” Ms. Virginia recalls. “I caught that last bus... Here it is after eleven, almost twelve o’clock, and I’m trying to make it home and start over again the next day. I had two jobs for a long time.”
Then one day, she was at W.W. Law Library and she heard about a voucher program for schooling as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). The opportunity changed the course of both her personal and professional life.
After graduating in 2013, Ms. Virginia found work with home health agencies and then at a nursing home, which she enjoys because she loves seeing different people every day. With a new job, she began focusing on paying her bills consistently on time, and she was able to improve her credit score.
Library staff remember Ms. Virginia visiting the computer lab, always diligent, always motivated to find the information she needed to get things done. And Ms. Virginia even started sharing her experience with neighbors, to encourage them to use the library's resources.
“I guess I’ve always been a motivator,” Ms. Virginia continues, “because I’m very independent and because I have four daughters, three in the military. They remind me of me because they’re very independent, too.”
She wants to continue to move forward in life and to be able to take better care of herself. “Well, now I’ve been a CNA for eight years. I’m focusing on my next task because my goal is to find a new place to make more [money]... So, this next step is doing some traveling CNA work. I’m excited and nervous at the same time because you don’t know what you’re going into…”
Ms. Virginia recently started coming back to W.W. Law Library more frequently as she pursues this new chapter in her career. She used the computers and printers as well as the quiet space of the library to get her paperwork together and finalized before turning it in.
“And I appreciate y’all’s help because every day is a learning process. You learn every day. If you’re not learning, you’re not doing something right. But you’re learning right? You're learning from me, I'm learning from you… We’re never too old to learn.”
We wish Ms. Virginia all the best on her journey and know she will accomplish great things.
