Lakisha Morgan

Lakisha Morgan's steps toward an Associate of Arts Degree at TCC required a cane as she battled a crippling disease, which also limited her vision to one eye. Three times a week, her class days began with a grueling schedule: a 30-minute walk to a clinic for treatments, then a 90-minute bus ride to South Campus.   

"I entered the campus scared and very unsure," recalled the May graduate and second-place winner in TCC's first Graduate Story Contest. "I was a single parent of four, and my home life was difficult to manage." 

A family setback early in her first semester almost forced Morgan to defer her dream: She learned that her teenage daughter was pregnant. Then Morgan met Dennis Lee, a South Campus academic advisor with TCC's federally-funded TRIO Program. He led her into the program, where she found a new world of strength and hope. 

"The program accepted me and began to help me balance my academic and personal life," Morgan said. "By my fourth semester, my confidence was high. I joined one of the best organizations that South Campus has to offer." 

She developed leadership skills, serving as 2009 president of the African American Student Organization and embodying the goal of Affirmation Action, meaning "think positive and follow it up with an action." 

Morgan, whose sight and mobility have been restored, also takes a Certificate of Business and Associate of Applied Sciences in Business Degree with her to The University of Texas at Arlington. 

She shares these parting thoughts: "If you're looking for positive change that will benefit your present as well as your future, give TCC a try. TCC has taught me to never stop short of your goals, to think big, to dream the unimaginable, and to do the impossible."