NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - High School Dropout Makes College Dream Come True
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Kenneth Smith was a high school dropout who dreamed of an education. Metro Action Commission delivered on that dream helping him get his GED.
Dr. Arlene Collins classroom was filled with students who missed out on finishing high school.
"Giving them hope is really what it's all about because once they get the hope they start learning," said Collins.
Collins helped the man who was sitting in the back of the classroom teaching alongside her. The last time he was here, Smith was a student struggling to get his GED.
"Kenneth dropped out of school not by choice but because he needed to help his family," said Collins.
A year later he's a freshman on scholarship at Fisk University and president of his class. Each week Smith spends 8 hours giving back to the classroom that gave him his start.
"He has a special technique of how he teaches the math that they understand," said Collins.
Struggle continued to be a common thread in the classroom, but Smith was proving there was hope.
"Just a little bit of hope and you can make it just as long as you believe," said Smith.
Kenneth Smith is double majoring in Economics and Biology and minoring in French.
Metro Community Programs: Adult Education
