Hello.
In 1992, I was a homeless veteran with three children. Star of Hope Transitional Living Center was located down the street from UH on Calhoun. I am a disabled veteran and the VA okayed me to go to school. School was starting the next week. I went to Texas Southern University, but I didn’t feel that it was the school for me. My thought was that I should go to school where I had to compete with a diverse class of students. I went to UH to apply for admission. I waited while they made the decision. When the lady came in to tell me their decision, I was nervous. She handed me the letter of acceptance. I was so happy and proud to be able to tell my children that I had been accepted into UH.
I love UH. I was able to take my children on campus. That gave them the opportunity to be exposed to college life. I was the type of parent who would be a role model for my children. They were good children. I talked to them about the world. The world is not a fair place. I had to teach them about being black in America. The students and professors were always so nice to my children when they were on campus.
I was in the College of Technology. Studying Industrial Supervision with a minor in Industrial Distribution. I was a member of SIDO. I was not a great student but I would work extra hard in my math classes. That was my weak area. Tudors and meeting with my professors got me through. I was able to graduate from UH in 1996. Deborah Patricia Rutherford had become the first person in my family to graduate from college. I told my children that I expected them to go to college. They all did go to college. My son stopped with 21 hours left to complete college. My oldest daughter went on to get a degree for Medical Laboratory Technician. Now she is a Lab manager. My youngest daughter who gave me problems when she was growing up. She hated school, so I was shocked to see her complete an associate degree; went on to complete her bachelor’s degree; and she is currently working on her Master’s degree. So my point is that no matter how much I had to struggle as a single parent, I showed my children that with hard work and determination that we can accomplish anything.
In closing, I want to share that I later went on to complete a Master of Arts in Theological Studies and a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Counseling. Finally I completed the Doctoral Program in Ministry. I have a strong belief in education. I did find that not everyone is capable of or do not want to go to college. We must show them that they can learn from other educational methods. Be aware of what your children and grandchildren are interested in and like doing so they can learn about their learning opportunities in those areas.
Peace!
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