Haylee Dingman will finally be able to tell her children that she is a high school graduate.
Dingman is one of about 120 local persons taking advantage of a new state law allowing those up to age 29 to take high school courses online in order to earn their high school diploma. Dingman and 24 other students were recognized at a ceremony May 13 at Douglass Learning Center for completing the courses needed to earn that coveted diploma.
Dingman, 27, said she considered getting her GED, but that was cost prohibitive. Then she saw information on Facebook about Lawton Public Schools’ Second Start program, which is free to those who qualify. When Dingman inquired about the program, she discovered that she needed just a few credits to earn her diploma.
She said her children are the main reason she considered enrolling in the first place.
“If it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t have gone back,” she said. “I have wanted to accomplish this for a very long time. I beat myself up for many years not graduating high school.
“So I beat myself up really hard because I've instilled in my kids (that) school is the most important thing to you right now. If you do not have schooling, you're not going to be able to go very far in life. And they tell me all the time, ‘Well, mommy, you didn't graduate high school.’ I can tell them that I went back and I did it.
“And I really want them to know. And look up to me, because they do. They look up to me. And when I didn't have my high school diploma, I didn't feel like they had a reason to look up to me. And now they do.
“And I'm very proud of myself because I never, ever thought, like I said, I never thought I'd be able to achieve this in my life.”
Dingman said now that she has her high school diploma, she plans to pursue a longtime dream of becoming a nurse; she has worked as a nursing assistant off and on for about 10 years.
“So this time next year, hopefully I'll be almost done with LPN and merging into RN and then eventually, hopefully, I'll be a nurse practitioner. I haven't decided yet. I'm going to get my RN in first. I don't want to set too high goals for myself and not achieve them, but once I get my RN in, I know for sure I want to finish that. I want to specialize in trauma ER or labor and delivery.”
Dingman said she was surprised how easy it was to begin the Second Start program.
“It was completely free, which is a big reason why it's taken me 10 years to get my high school diploma or GED,” Dingman said. “And then I found out I didn't need much credit. So I was like, yeah, I'm going to do that instead of the GED program.”
The Second Start program allows students to take courses online, at their own pace and convenience, and will provide a laptop computer for those without one.
“I don't own a laptop. Money is a big thing. So going and buying a laptop is completely different. That was out of the question. So when I found out that they also provided the laptop, that actually made it a lot easier for me, and it has helped a lot,” Dingman said.
She said it also was easy to follow the online courses with LPS providing tech support and certified teachers to help students. Working at her own pace and on her own time also was a benefit.
“I would be able to take my laptop with me and on my downtime, do my work from school. So it was very, very, very convenient,” she said.
Dingman said she would tell others who are interested in enrolling in the program to not give up and not to underestimate themselves.
“Because no matter how much work you have, this program is based on your own pace, so you don't have to feel stress,” Dingman said. “Just don't give up. And don't be discouraged if you get on there and you see a lot of work because it really looks like a lot, but it's honestly not as much as you think. It is not near as much because I thought it was going to be very, very, very overwhelming. And it was not. It was pretty easy, to be honest, a lot easier than I expected it to be.
“So just to anybody else that's doing this program, don't give up. Do not get overwhelmed. Just keep pushing through and you'll get it. One day. You'll get it.”
Before the recognition ceremony, Dingman said she was not sure how she would feel.
“I think it's going to hit me the day of graduation when I actually put my cap and gown on and walk across that stage. I'm going to cry. Like I said, it's been 10 years since I would have graduated and I never thought I would be able to get it done. Honestly I'm going to feel very, very happy. I will have a very big weight lifted off my shoulders. I’m probably going to smile for years to come.”