For Alona Powell, the path to graduation took a turn she didn't expect. After leaving Hueytown High School, she enrolled at Auburn University with plans to major in political science. Once there, she discovered a love for Auburn football was all set to pursue her passion for law.
By the end of her first semester, though, the financial strain was evident.
"The cost became too much. I didn't want to take on more loans," she recalled.
Her mother encouraged her to return home and consider Lawson State. At first, Alona felt discouraged - she believed leaving a large university for community college meant she had fallen behind. Instead, she found an opportunity.
"The truth is it was actually a setup for success," she said. "You shouldn't look down on community colleges. We are just as strong as larger schools."
Through work study, she earned more income on campus than she had when she worked off campus. She attended TRIO-Student Success Services events, special conferences, and the recent Thurgood Marshall College Fund Workforce Development Summit. She even presented a seminar about her educational journey - an experience that helped her grow in confidence and helped other students see the value in her journey.
Alona will continue her studies in political science at Mississippi State University, supported by a Phi Theta Kappa transfer scholarship and a Thurgood Marshall College Fund award. She plans to minor in sports communication and hopes to merge the influences of her aunt, an attorney, and her mother, a real estate business owner. Both have been powerful role models.
She leaves Lawson State with a renewed sense of what's possible. "Test scores don't define you," Alona said. "And even if the college is right next door, there is an opportunity. Lawson State helped me see that and helped me believe in what comes next."
