Libraries change lives-a fact that Mivadia Joseph can easily attest. Thanks to her public library, Joseph was able to earn her high school diploma.
WPFB News details the inspiring story of how Mivadia, a Boynton Beach, Florida, resident who immigrated to the United States from Haiti 7 years ago, earned her degree while caring for her three young children and working multiple jobs. The rigors of childcare and working during the pandemic almost led Mivadia to abandon a time-sensitive, paid study program she was using to get her degree, but a chance visit to the local library at her daughter’s insistence changed everything.
At Boynton Beach City Library, Mivadia got a library card and signed up for Smart Horizons, an online high school that serves adults in need of a high school diploma. Four months later, Mivadia got her diploma for free, and Boynton Beach celebrated her achievement in a special ceremony.
Mivadia now works as a certified nurse assistant. She told WPFB that she had a message for Boynton Beach.
“I want to say thank you,” she said. “It’s been a very long time. I’ve been fighting, been working very hard to get [my degree].”
She continued: “Anyone can do it. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”
During Library Card Sign-up Month, celebrated each September, we highlight all the incredible ways that a library card can change lives. Learn more today!
Photo by Pixabay.
