I just can’t
give up now.
I have come too far from where I started from.
Nobody told me
the road would be easy.
I don’t
believe He brought me this far to leave me.
(Mary Mary)
On Friday, my family traveled to Northwest Arkansas to attend the
induction ceremony into the Arkansas Academy of Industrial Engineering (AAIE). The
plan was for us to arrive early so that we had time to tour the campus,
particularly Bell Engineering Center, and to locate my name on Senior Walk. By
5:30 am, the plans changed: Our local flight was cancelled without notification;
the only flights available with three seats required us to drive to Houston, connect
through Dallas, fly into Tulsa, and drive back to Springdale. At one point, I
looked at James, ready to give up, when a still small voice said don’t quit. So
we made the journey and arrived as the banquet began. Throughout the ceremony,
I realized that this journey leading me back to the University of Arkansas began
years ago.
The thing is, I never planned to attend any in-state college. If I had
my way, I would have gone to Duke. I first started getting info from Duke in
junior high school, based on standardized test scores. Later, in high school,
after expressing an interest in engineering, I began to get correspondence from
the School of Engineering. At that time, I had not considered the cost of going
to Duke...I simply wanted to go to Duke because the school expressed interest
in me.
Senior year rolled around and the reality of paying for college set in.
I grew up in Stuttgart, a low-to-moderate income community, and I was first
generation college. Thankfully, I had a dedicated guidance counselor who worked
tirelessly to assist those of us who needed help finding scholarships (a big
shout-out to Mrs. Ferguson). I had no idea how I could afford college, so I
only applied to in-state schools... thinking I could not afford out-of-state
tuition and unaware of any other options. On graduation day, I learned that I
had been selected for the Ruth Reiger Scholarship, renewable for four years at
an in-state institution. I started classes at the UA in June 1988 and completed
my coursework by December 1992.
We make our plans, but God orders our steps. The road to good works has
not been easy. There were a lot of nights when the load of you-name-it seemed too much to bear and I wanted to give up, but that
still small voice would speak to me and say don’t quit. I am so thankful for
the blessings and the lessons learned along the journey. When the banquet was
over, I had the pleasure of meeting two very prosperous members of AAIE, who informed me
that I was only the fourth person born in Stuttgart to become a member of the
academy. (That makes me the first woman from Stuttgart to be inducted and
motivates me to become an ambassador for more women to pursue Industrial
Engineering.) To learn more about what’s happening at the University of
Arkansas, visit http://www.ineg.uark.edu/
So, as I get ready for another workweek, I close this post with a verse
of inspiration:
Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
To read the poem in it’s entirety, visit http://www.thedontquitpoem.com/thePoem.htm
