SURRY COUNTY, N.C. – At 37 years old, one North Carolina mother decided to go back to school to get her high school equivalency diploma through Surry Community College.

Christina Caudill faced a lot of challenges growing up that prevented her from getting a higher education. She finished eighth grade, entered ninth grade, and was 15 years old when she quit school for the first time.

Caudill started her journey to get her diploma on August 28, 2018 and finished the program in three months. She walked across the stage one week before her daughter walked for her high school graduation.

“I was able to get a better job. So my whole work career, I was either a waitress or worked in some kind of fast food or convenience store, which there is nothing wrong with that, but it wasn’t making a lot of money to take care of my family," Caudill says.

Caudill now works for Lowe’s Home Improvement at the call center in Wilkesboro, where she has been for the last two years.

Surry Community College offers students many options to earn a high school equivalency diploma or an adult high school diploma. For more information, click here.