At thirty-five years of age, Ginnifer Sanchez is a single mother to three beautiful, smart, and resilient children for which she lives. Born and raised in Kokomo, Indiana, Sanchez is now a graduate of the Kokomo Area Career Center’s Adult Education Program.
It hasn’t always been easy for Sanchez. She asserts, “I work two jobs as a server and a subcontractor remodeling houses. I am also bipolar. My day-to-day life is a struggle some days. I’ve chosen not to be on medication. Some people do very well on medicine, but sadly I do not. My mental health added to a lifetime of abuse and some drug addiction landed me as a ninth-grade dropout.”
However, she decided she wanted more for herself. “I first decided in 2016 I wanted to finish my education. I was clean and so I signed up for my first test and started classes. I took the TASC test (formerly called the GED) and passed all but English and mathematics. I hate math, but English was my go-to subject. I didn’t know what had happened. I later learned that I had written my essay—a perfect one too—on the scrap paper and not in the test book.”
“I did eventually quit going to class for a while, but I decided to try again a couple of years later. I retook the English and passed, but I was still stumped on that awful math! I couldn’t follow the new teacher and I quit.”
Luckily, Sanchez’s journey didn’t end there. “In 2021, Mrs. Janet Geier-Moriarty emailed me to inform me that the test is changing in July. She asked if I was interested in getting back in school so I didn’t have to start all over with a new test. Frantically, I made the decision that on top of two jobs, being a single mother, being ten months out of a twenty-year abusive relationship, I had to finish what I started. I came back, but weeks went by where I made no progress, or at least it felt that way. I was going to give up again. However, Janet was relentless with many texts and much encouragement telling me it was short-term pain for the long-term gain! Every time I would start slipping because I was exhausted and frustrated, she was on me by inspiring me to ‘keep at it!’”
Janet wasn’t the only KACC cheerleader that Sanchez had. “Ms. Alice Guest was always so calm and could get me to understand her even when I thought I wasn’t. I’d tell her “I don’t get this; I’m not ready; I’m math illiterate! She’d simply smile and say, “No, you are not; you wouldn’t have made it this far!” Kindly she would go over it again with me. I just knew I didn’t have what it takes to pass, though she thought otherwise.” Sanchez retook the math exam for a third time and passed!
Sanchez claims, “My advice to anyone in my shoes it to trust the teachers and keep working at it. In Janet’s words, ‘short term pain / long term gain.’ I am so thankful for this opportunity and the support of the two teachers, Janet and Alice. They pushed me and got me over that finish line. I also want to thank Work One for taking a chance on me and paying for my test. Thanks to the program at KACC, my future opened up to so many different opportunities. Thank you KACC! I am so proud and have changed my mind about walking at graduation. At first I thought I am too old to walk at graduation, but now I realize that I want to lead by example for my kids and show them how proud I am to achieve my diploma.”