What are the chances that a teen mother of two would graduate high school, earn certification as a nursing assistant and be making plans to go to college to pursue a dream of someday going to medical school to become a pediatric oncologist?
Pretty low – unless you happen to find a high school like Learn4Life that helps teen mothers and other students who have struggled with their education. For Destiny L. it was a life saver.
“After the birth of my daughter, I experienced severe postpartum depression. I didn’t have the motivation to continue school or deal with the additional stress,” Destiny explained.
That’s not surprising, since according to a National Institutes of Health study, adolescent mothers are twice as likely as their adult counterparts to have postpartum depression.
“Thanks to the flexibility of the Learn4Life program, I was able to slowly heal my mental health,” said Destiny. “I could take the time necessary to do proper self-care.”
She said that when she didn’t make it to school, her teachers texted her frequently and encouraged her to come in and turn in an assignment or two. Being able to learn at her own pace was important to keep her on a path to graduate while taking care of herself and her family. She never felt like she had to rush to keep up with everybody else like at her previous school.
“I always struggled believing that I could become something in life,” she admitted. “Coming to Learn4Life helped me get an amazing start into my career path by offering the certified nursing assistant program. And next I plan to enroll in the child development program.”