Tracy MacDonald said she worked hard in high school as a teenager, but had an unstable home situation that caused her to struggle academically. “When I was 16, my mother left a note saying she didn’t want me to go live with my father. At that point, my father was a bit of an alcoholic, so I knew it wasn’t the best situation for me,” says MacDonald. She got a lawyer and was “emancipated,” a legal term meaning the teenager was no longer the responsibility of her parents. He finished high school and thought he would get a diploma, but later found out he had a 46 percent in English, a failing grade, and couldn’t graduate. She moved on with her life, but never forgot high school. “I thought about it all the time. I always wanted to get my Grade 12. “Maybe I’ll go back,” he says. But the moment was never right. She is a single parent of five children, including four youngsters at home, and has worked all kinds of jobs to pay the bills: a lobster boat, Tim Hortons and a call center.

Many challenges

She didn’t like how the off hours kept her away from her children after their school day and then she lost custody of her child. “At that point I had to quit my job so I could take care of my kids… And the only other option was to go to school to try to continue my education so I could get into college so I could I become more than nothing.” Sonya Eddy helped MacDonald gain her English and also helps her write her life story. (Mark Crosby/CBC) MacDonald enrolled at Queens High School for Adults in Liverpool, New York, and spent his senior year earning that missing English credit. He won a Literacy Nova Scotia scholarship in the process. Sonya Eddy was her teacher and says MacDonald’s story is touching. “She’s the perfect role model because she has every reason not to come back, but she comes back anyway, and she has this great success. And I see a lot of potential in her. I think she’s a student who needs to tell her story to other adults and encouraging them, because it’s inspiring to listen to,” says Eddie. MacDonald earned the credit he was missing in English and graduated in June. She hopes to study to become a teacher’s aide — and someday a teacher. She already works as a substitute assistant at Queens Middle School.
“And it’s amazing and I love helping kids. They’re good kids. Some of them need help, a little more than others, but that’s what my job is for.” MacDonald is also writing a book about her life and hopes to publish it to inspire other people to learn that it’s never too late to get an education. “I’m very proud of myself, because I’ve come a long way. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it.”