My name is Sharonette Edwards and I am in the licensed practicing nurse(LPN) program at Wytheville Community College and hope to bridge over into the registered nurse (RN) program. I have been married for twenty-four years. My husband and I adopted our nine year-old son from Ukraine when he was fourteen months old. We were both working at Guildan Active Wear when news broke that we were losing our jobs.  At that point, everything seemed hopeless. Not one but both of us were going to be jobless. We adopted our child to give him a better life, not one of welfare and poverty.

I am so thankful that the Training and Reinvestment Act (TRA) is providing us the opportunity of an education and new start as LPNs through Wytheville Community College. Our nursing instructors are amazing educators who are really encouraging us to reach our full potential. I believe that when we graduate, we will both find work in fields that we love. I am hoping to make a difference by helping others and looking forward to a career with true meaning and success. I have hope that my family’s future will be brighter than I ever believed it could be.

I was offered an opportunity, along with five other Wytheville Community College students, to attend a legislative trip to Richmond. I attended an amazing reception at the Library of Virginia on February 17^th and then went back the following morning for an informative meeting conducted by the VCCS Chancellor, Glenn DuBois.  I met with Senators John Edwards, William Wampler, Phillip Puckett, Roscoe Reynolds and Delegate Ward Armstrong. Other WCC students also visited with Delegate Anne B. Crockett-Stark and Delegate Bill Carrico.  I even had a couple of minutes to step into one of the rooms and listen to a proposed bill being discussed.

Visiting with legislators has been an eye-opening experience for me. Everyone that I met with was kind and informative. Each one took the time and patience to listen to our stories and share how our state government and funding works. I even discovered that our first community college was funded by taxing the items people bought by one penny.

I am so lucky to be enrolled at WCC. I will not take for granted the sacrifices that are being made in other areas so that people like me can have an education. Our Virginia legislature has an astonishing history and, despite current challenges, a bright future too. This trip has been an opportunity of a lifetime that I will never forget.

Sharonette Edwards
Wytheville Community College