One mom is thanking her community library for helping her earn her GED. The technology desk staff, including Head of Reference Megan Vaughn, took notice of Nashonda High’s frequent visits to the Macon’s Washington Memorial Library.
“Starting about February of 2024, Miss Nashonda started coming in to check out a Chromebook,” Vaugh told 13 WMAZ. “Just about every week we’d see her come in, she’d turn her Chromebook in, get her Chromebook back.”
High spent a year studying for and passing her GED examinations by checking out a laptop from the library once a week. Then, in December 2024, High informed the librarians that she had finally accomplished her goal.
The Middle Georgia Regional Library celebrated her accomplishment on Facebook.
They wrote “We’d like to congratulate one of our patrons, Nashonda, for earning her GED!! Since February of last year, Nashonda consistently checked out the Chromebooks we offer for patrons to take home, and used them to study for and PASS her GED test!! Way to go, Nashonda!”
High said, “With the help of that Chromebook, it has really opened. It really encouraged me, like I was on the go.”
She added, “It’s touching. It’s very touching. When I did come in here, it’s more like a home away from home. I always felt welcome here.”
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High explained that she remained persistent because of her four children.
She said, “You ask my 12-year-old daughter; she would say, ‘Mama, your book bag is like your second purse.’ Yeah, it was stuff like that encouraged me. My son, he would say, ‘Mama keep trying.’ My daughter, she would encourage me. It just feels good that I had my own little circle that saw me as their mother. Not only as a mother, but as an educator, as somebody trying to pursue something, somebody trying to get somewhere. And for them to push me when I felt weak, it’s amazing.”
Vaughn said she was thrilled to see how their laptop initiative improved people’s lives and community.
She explained that after the pandemic, the Washington Memorial Library began lending out technology to library cardholders. She explained that they are able to do so thanks to funding from the Georgia Public Library Service.
Meanwhile, High indicated that she plans on using what she has learned to serve people as a certified nursing assistant in the same manner that the library benefited her.
“This has truly been a journey,” High said. “It’s emotional. It’s the only thing I could say. I’m on the rise, and for those struggling to pursue a goal or get their GED like me, or trying to pursue something, whatever you’re trying to pursue in life, just know that you can do it.”
