News

DESPITE HAVING TOUGH TIMES STUDENT HELPS THE HOMELESS

Contact: ROBurchette@gtcc.edu (Released 7/18/11)

JAMESTOWN - Despite her hectic schedule as a single mom and a college student, LaTeisha Johnson of Greensboro has found time to help the homeless.

"We worked with the Winter Emergency program to get people in out of the cold and to get them food," said Johnson, who recently was named the outstanding college transfer graduate at the Guilford Technical Community College graduation.

Receiving her Associate of Art degree was a big step toward her goal of becoming a physician's assistant, she said. She will enroll at East Carolina University to earn a four-year degree. That will present more challenges - paying for her education and finding someone to care for her two-year-old daughter Taylor while she is in class.

Johnson shrugs away the odds against her. "I am just praying for a miracle," she said. "In America you always have a chance. You don't have to stay where you are. You can build your back up in society," she said.

That philosophy plays into her role as an advocate for the homeless. She became involved in that project after seeing the work her mother, Teresa Hicks, was doing with the homeless. Johnson's major task was transporting homeless people to shelters in Burlington and Durham or "anywhere we could find a place for them. My little car became a taxi," she said.

Johnson graduated from Smith High School in 2002 and enrolled in GTCC but dropped out for a while because of "family obligations."  In 2004, she enrolled at Livingstone College in Salisbury to study biology. "They don't have a nursing degree there," she said.

In 2004, Johnson left GTCC to pursue a Bachelor's degree at Livingston College. After a year there she returned home to help her family to help with a situation that she said is personal to her family. Five years later she returned to GTCC and finished her Associate degree in General Studies.

Her most recent college experience saw her excelling academically and being recognized among Who's Who Among College Students. Johnson also became an evening representative of the Student Government Association, parliamentarian of Phi Beta Lambda, vice-president of Rotaract Club and active in Clubs Council and College Transfer and single parenting groups.
Johnson said she has found success in college while spending a lot of time helping others and networking to become more involved in the community.

# # # #