TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee State College are all holding commencement ceremonies this week, <\/p>\n
The graduates walking across the stage all have a story, and one at Tallahassee State College is an exciting first in more ways than one. <\/p>\n
Jada Parker is getting ready to don her cap and gown and walk across the stage, finishing up her associates degree in psychology with an eye to the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel happy here. I feel happy that I have accomplished all these things,\u201d Parker said. \u201cIt\u2019s such a big deal for me because I\u2019m the first in my family to ever graduate from college as well. So, it definitely feels like a big accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parker will also become the first in the Dreams and Success Homes Family to earn a degree.<\/p>\n
DASH offers children who age out of foster car to a place to find their footing in the real world. <\/p>\n
Parker said it\u2019s helped her focus and set goals. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would set goals but I would procrastinate and I would never get anything done. So definitely being able to have someone hold me accountable for those goals has definitely changed a lot. I have been able to get everything done,\u201d Parker said. \u201cI\u2019m graduating. I\u2019m in a stable job. I work full time at a daycare which I really love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Williams, a former foster youth who aged out and wound up homeless for a while, started DASH five years ago to help other teens like him. <\/p>\n
He made the list of Forbes Magazine\u2019s next 1000 for it. <\/p>\n
Williams said watching Parker graduate from TSC, just as he did, is a full circle moment. <\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing her stick it out, because a lot of people give up. They\u2019re like okay I tried college, I don\u2019t care about that, I don\u2019t care about my bills, I just want to be free. And she was like, no, I want to change the tracjectory of my legacy and my family and then she did it and like she said, she was the first,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
As Parker celebrates this personal milestone and contemplates her future, she hopes other foster kids will see more than her success, they\u2019ll see what\u2019s possible. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnybody can do it regardless of where you come from. I feel like you could start it, small, as long as you set those goals and actually accomplish those goals, you can do anything,\u201d Parler said.<\/p>\n
Parker received her degree at TSC\u2019s commencement ceremonies Thursday.<\/p>\n
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