Most Likely to Succeed

Last weekend I went to my 25th high school reunion. Since our graduating class was only 48 people, we knew each other pretty well. However, I am amazed at what I didn't know.
I didn't know that Tracy Tucker dropped out after our freshman year. I don't remember ever hearing where she went--I guess I assumed she moved away. She had moved to Hillsboro as a "new girl" in 5th grade, living with her grandma, so maybe I could have guessed that her home life wasn't stable. I don't recall being curious. She seemed a little tough, but nice. She found friends in other circles.
At the reunion, Tracy said after dropping out she worked as a bartender. After a number of years, when she found herself nearly homeless with three children, she knew something had to change.
She got her GED, then went to college. A few sciences classes proved interesting, so she took a few more and found herself heading for medical school. After fourteen years of grueling study, hard choices, and single parenting, she became a doctor.
She now works as an ER doctor in Wichita. She's recently purchased some land near Emporia and is putting the finishing touches on her dream home of stone. Her son was awarded WSU's Wallace scholarship for engineering.
The arc of her life story sounds worthy of a three-part feature by Roy Wenzl (my favorite journalist) in the Wichita Eagle. The grit she has shown is worthy of admiration--and emulation.
Well done, Tracy Tucker. You might not have been anyone's vote for "Most Likely to Succeed," but you did it anyway.