Friday will be a day Donna McGehee and her two daughters won’t soon forget.
McGehee and daughters, Wendy Young and Kat Ortiz, will graduate from Lake City Community College all on the same night.
McGehee and Young will graduate from nursing school and will be registered nurses after taking board examinations.
Ortiz will receive her associate’s of arts degree.
The journey to graduation was not an easy one.
The family lost a father and husband, Tom Clark McGehee, on New Year’s Day, after a train ran over him.
McGehee credits the support from family and friends as the way they got through the difficult time.
She remembers her husband as a great provider and committed family man who supported his wife, two daughters and son-in-law, through college.
He retired from a 25-year career at Florida Power and Light and then started working for the Department of Transportation in Miami.
He moved his family to Columbia County seven years ago after getting transferred here.
He worked for the DOT for 13 years before his death.
“Tommy was killed on New Year’s Day, and we were scheduled to start our term on Jan. 4,” McGehee said. “Support from the community, especially one of our instructors, Pat Davis, has been our backbone.”
After he died, the trio thought about moving to Orlando for jobs after graduation.
“We were seriously looking for jobs there and had offers lined up, but after experiencing the heavy traffic, we decided that we’d stay in Lake City,” Young said.
The road to graduation started a few years earlier.
Young was completing her degree and was interested in becoming a sonographer.
Then she learned that the program she was considering required its students to have a nursing background.
At that point she started researching the LCCC nursing program.
Around the same time, McGehee was considering returning to school.
“I heard that LCCC offered a premiere nursing program and became interested,” she said.
Young waited for her mother so the two could attend classes together.
Ortiz graduated from high school, attended school for year, married and had her son before returning to finish her second year.
She has been accepted to Sanford Brown Institute where she plans to become a diagnostic medical sonographer.
“I hope to take ultrasounds for head, abdominal, cardiac, and male and female reproductive care,” she said.
Ortiz’s husband, T.D., served in the Army in Korea and Iraq.
The couple has an 11-month-old son, Aiden.
Ortiz is also studying at LCCC.
Young credits her mother for encouraging her to keep going when times got hard.
The divorced mother of two sons, Shane, 7, and Kennedy, 5, juggled working full-time, caring for her children and attending school before the demand of nursing school required her to quit work.
“My mom really pushed me,” Young said. “She is not a procrastinator, and her drive really lit a fire under me.”
In addition to studying nursing herself, McGehee encouraged her two daughters, cares for her three grandsons and even finds time to serve as class president at Lake City Community College.
“I get up by 4 a.m.,” she said. “Sometimes even earlier; I enjoy making the most of my day.”
Young and McGehee remember nights falling asleep reading and waking up with their heavy nursing books around them.
“We learned to sleep with our books,” Young laughs.
Everything was a team effort in their home.
The women studied together, watched the three boys together, and ate together even if their meals were simple sandwiches with soup.
“We are tired and happy to be graduating,” Young said.
All three women are members of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society in recognition of their high grade point averages.
In addition to their cap and gown regalia, the three will sport medallions, sashes and honor cords for their achievements Friday.
After graduation the family plans on taking a trip to Boca Raton.
Young and McGehee will start studying for their board exams.
The women say that adjusting to the necessary sacrifices has been the most challenging part of their schooling.
None of the women work, due to their extensive course work.
McGehee knows that her education will not end here. “I will go for my master’s too,” she said.
“I think college is mush easier for non-traditional students because they tend to be more committed and are more willing to put forth the effort needed to be proficient.”
McGehee describes her typical day as waking up, studying, attending class, coming home, studying and doing it all over again the next day.
“Dinner has been on hold for the last four years,” she laughs.
The busy students ate sandwiches, frozen dinners and take-out while juggling their many obligations.
In addition, there hasn’t been a lot of time for fun.
“Before we used to have family movie nights,” Young said.
The family also enjoyed getting dressed up and attending opera and symphony performances.
“Before I started school, I cooked three meals a day,” McGehee said.
Young adds, “Yes, my mother is a good cook but she also likes to experiment with coconut and adding a ‘blanket o’ cheese’ to almost anything,” she said.
McGehee sums up her outlook by a favorite quote.
“Every minute of every day is another chance to turn your life around or better yourself,” she said.
http://www.lakecityreporter.com/articles/2005/05/04/news/top_story/news01.prt
–Ashley Cisneros
*****************************************************************************
Ashley Cisneros is a co-founder of Chatter Buzz Media, an Orlando Internet marketing firm that helps companies and organizations engage with their target markets through inbound marketing via the Internet. Chatter Buzz Media, which won the Social Madness competition for the Orlando small business market, is a full-service digital marketing firm specializing in website design, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing and content creation. Prior to founding Chatter Buzz, Ashley worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, technical writer, marketing manager, public relations practitioner and freelance journalist. To see Ashley’s content writing, visit www.ashleycisneros.com. You can also reach Ashley on her Google profile.
Leave A Comment