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.
