Craig Boykin, professional speaker and author, wrote in his book My Life, Your Inspiration, “If you want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” This quote perfectly sums up Tiffanie Cameron’s journey. Traveling through rain, sleet, and snow many early mornings, she would make the long trek to school. She was determined to get her HSE (GED), and absolutely nothing could stop her.
Tiffanie became pregnant when she was 16 years old, and she was taken out of school. Sadly, she had a miscarriage and never went back. Several years later when she was 23, she had the opportunity to attend a YouthBuild program which helped her pay rent, create a savings plan, receive bus tokens, set goals, and earn her education. In 2015, about 10 months later, Tiffanie graduated from the program and walked away with many valuable life skills as well as her HSE!
“My proudest moment was when I found out I passed everything on the (HSE) test the first time. We weren’t supposed to have our test scores back yet, but at a class Thanksgiving get-together they surprised us and announced those of us who passed. I give all glory to God. It was a special day; I cried. Later at graduation, all of our stories were told.”
Fast forward about 5 years later, Tiffanie is currently attending Ivy Tech in pursuit of an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Fall of 2019 was her first semester taking classes, and she has knocked it “out of the park” so far, earning 3 A’s and a B. While going to school, Tiffanie is working at EVSC’s Wee Care Early Learning Center as a Teaching Assistant taking care of teachers’ kids. She loves kids and currently holds a CDA (Child Development Associate) credential. One day, she desires to become a Lead Teacher and has dreams to possibly become a Labor and Delivery Nurse down the road.
Tiffanie is a single mom of 2 (ages 7 and 8) and says the hardest part of working and going to school is that she doesn’t have as much time with her own kids. She values the time she does get with them and says, “I’ve overcome a lot of fear and am trying to teach my kids not to be scared of life.” Tiffanie holds closely to her Christian faith and believes that with God, all things really are possible.
The advice she wants to share with others is,
“No matter how hard it gets, don’t give up! You can achieve it if you put your mind to it. Determination is the key. We all fail, but don’t let that stop you from succeeding. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! I never thought that I would make it this far. Every day is a struggle, but it pays off in the end.”
Another major recent success of Tiffanie’s is she raised enough money to purchase a car of her own. She had been driving a car donated by her church which she was extremely thankful for, but she was able to purchase her new car at the end of February (2020) with her hard-earned money. “It took a lot of hard work to be able to buy a beautiful car that is more dependable.”
Tiffanie, we are extremely proud of you and how far you have come. Thanks for coming back all these years later and sharing your story! Your story matters and will impact many in the years to come.