Inspiration from a Former Student
Diogines Villa, known to us as Dio, is a former VITA student who passed his HiSET after studying with us and went on to enroll at SLCC in the Industrial Electronics Technology program. We loved having him in class and watching him reach and exceed goal after goal fills our hearts. We asked Dio to give a short speech at our recent Rx for Success fundraiser, and this is what he said:
When We Cross
Since coming to VITA, my life has changed in ways I didn’t anticipate. When I first came to VITA, I was nervous and I didn't know what to expect. As time passed I began to make educational improvements and that was to be expected, however; it came with a rise in self-esteem which was also much needed unbeknownst to myself.
After some time I was prepared to take on the HISET test and with encouragement from everyone at VITA, I successfully climbed that mountain and passed every part of it. Also, this gave me the courage to ask my then girlfriend to marry me and she said yes.
A month later I enrolled myself South Louisiana Community College where, again, I was nervous, but still I attempted to cross this hurdle head-on. The only difference was now I was alone because I didn’t get this far alone. I carry with me all the hard work and hopes of everyone at VITA, my wife, and my son who keeps me from giving up in the face of adversity.
At the end of my first semester, I finished with a 3.6 GPA and told myself, “if I can make a 3.6 I can definitely make a 4.0.” So for the entire year of 2018, I worked as hard as I could and finished with a 4.0 for two of the three semesters and missed the third by .8 points and made a 3.92.
The extra courage I've gained was much needed because I speak a lot to rooms of people and other college students and now I try to instill into them the lessons I learned at VITA. That’s why next month when I walk across or should I say when we cross the stage to receive an Associates in Industrial Electronics Technology, I`ll be carrying you all with me.
