Megan saw first-hand what can happen to a family that doesn’t value education.

“I came from a broken-down home,” she said. “I always wanted to finish high school but had obstacles in life. My mom and step-dad were on drugs. I really didn’t have money, but I left home and ventured into the world at age 16. After that, I was the one to take care of my nieces when my sister ran away to be with a man. My other sister didn’t want to take care of kids, and her boyfriend was abusive.”

When Megan looked into her nieces’ and daughters’ faces, she knew she needed to help them become the best selves they could be.

“I wanted to set an example for them,’ she said.

Graduation Alliance was the first hit on an internet search for online high school programs. Caring teachers and academic coaches helped Megan through when her daughter became ill and ended up in the hospital for two weeks—she even took her laptop to the hospital.

“The academic coaches were most helpful in earning my high school diploma,” Megan said. “Melissa, Shae and Lisa, they really helped out when times got me so down in stress and I felt like giving up.”

With high school diploma in hand, Megan is applying to a veterinary program to show her kids that a dream thought up in the fifth grade can come true as an adult.

“You’ve got to set the example,” she said, “not be the example.”