For Volunteers : Volunteer Stories

A Lesson in Education

by Shannon Hoffman, Christian Appalachian Project, Mt. Vernon, KY

GED Class: Monday, February 16: Hannah and Jessica – Algebra, pg. 72, 74.  Fill out FAFSA.

It seemed like a pretty easy day, until I realized when I filled out my own FAFSA my dad sat next to me at the computer in my family's house.  He practically did the whole thing for me because he wanted to make sure it was correct and because I became exasperated after question 80.

Needless to say, when I looked at my to-do sheet that day, I got that panic feeling and began to wonder, "How are we going to do this?"

When the girls came in and we began fill out the form, it wasn't that difficult.  Your name, address, marital status, and the highest grade your parents had completed.  Even the last blank didn’t prove to be too personal.

However, the brows began to furrow and the questions began to multiply as we turned the page to determine “Student Dependency Status.”  This is also when the stories of my students’ lives began to unfold.

Do you have children who will receive more than half of their support from you between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010?(Q53)  Jessica had a daughter, but her husband, a coal miner, was the one who provided the income for the family.  This was one of the primary reasons Jessica wanted to get her GED, to have the ability to apply for a well-paid job or in case something happened to her marriage, as she put it.

Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half their support from you, now through June 30, 2010?(Q54)  Hannah often talked about her crowded house and listed it as one of the reasons she was not successful in a traditional high school setting.  Her house was the home to her mommy and daddy – both unemployed, papaw – who was quite sick, 5-year-old sister and any friends her mother decided to let into the house.  Hannah couldn’t wait to have a place of her own and while she was taking GED classes worked long hours at the local Dairy Queen.

At any time since you turned age 13, were both your parents deceased, were you in foster care or were you a dependent or ward of the court?(Q55)

“Why do they ask these questions?” Jessica asked.
Hannah quickly responded, “They want to know how hard your life was, so the harder your life is the more money you get.”
I smiled.  I guess she had a point.

“Well, see, I don’t know how to answer these questions,” Jessica said, while nervously pulling her hair back and looking down.  “See, when I was living in Ohio, we moved down here and I wasn’t living with my mom.  I was living with other people.”

“Were you in foster care?”  I asked, surprisingly comfortably. 

“No, I was living with my aunt and then my cousin and just moving around a lot and they didn’t really take good care of the papers.  My mom might have them, but I really don’t want to go over there and get them.  Do you think I’ll have to go over there and get them?”  Jessica asked with panicked eyes.

Jessica, with her beautiful hair, manicured nails, desire to be proper, and her intelligence, she was tossed around?  She was unwanted?  It wasn’t the story I imagined for her and she hid it well.  I was sure there had to be a way around getting the papers.

“Don’t worry, Jess,” I said.  “You won’t have to go get the papers.”

After the girls left with their algebra homework and FAFSA worksheets in tow, I thought a lot about the government needing to know “how hard their life was.”  Answering a few questions will give someone reading the form a small glimpse into their life, but not everything.  That sheet won’t tell someone how easily Hannah picks up on math or how Jessica can fill the room with laughter when she tells a story.  It won’t fully represent how determined these girls are to make a better life for themselves.  However, because the life these girls had to live up to this point was a difficult one, I am glad they will have the help they need and deserve to help make their goals and dreams a reality.

These two girls have inspired me to alter my career goals in order to help more girls like them follow their dreams.   When I began GED instruction in October 2009, I saw volunteering as a justifiable diversion from the real world until I entered graduate school.  However, I now see the entire experience as divine intervention.  I have now changed my personal goals to be more about the help and promotion of the success of others, instead of myself.  I hope to work with programs that connect disadvantaged high school students to higher education and later research problems in access to higher education.  If it had not been for this year of volunteering in Appalachia I do not think my worldview or my career goals would have changed so drastically or been molded this completely. 

**Names of students have been changed**