Success Stories

Katrina-Was She My Friend or Enemy?

Hello, my name is Diedra Taylor and I would like to share a little about myself with you. Let me start by saying I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana. I lived there all my life. I’m a mother of four wonderful kids.

I had a very hard life. As a single mother, I would get up every day and go to work just to pay bills. What very little money I had left was to take care of my kids. I stopped going to school in the 7th grade because I had a very hard time understanding the work and no one would take time out to help me. The only job I could get was housekeeping. I wanted to go to school but how could I with four kids to take care of?

As time went on I just lived from day to day until August 28, 2005. We were told to take a few things, lock our doors to our homes, and go somewhere safe. I told my kids we were going out of town for a few days - we never made it home. Around 4:30 a.m. my kids and I was in a hotel room. I was looking at the news and all I could see was water over New Orleans. All I could think about was my home and the people that were left behind. I was a first time home buyer. I bought my home March, 2004 and it was destroyed August, 2005. I sat up in the bed and looked at my kids and all I could do was cry - our life was over.

The next day it was all over the news - New Orleans was gone underwater. People were fighting for their life. I began to cry out to God “where will we go?” We stayed in the hotel two and one half weeks. As I began to pray I remembered this pastor, Terrance Reed. My kids and I went to his church a few times. I called him and asked him for help. He told me to come to Weatherford, Texas. I didn’t know how to get there so on my way I would stop and ask people if I was going the right way. Once we got there I was so depressed until I needed something to do so I started going to GED School. Well, I’m happy to say it has been a long road but I made it. In spite of the hardships and pain, one year later I received my GED. I also passed the Nurses Aide Examination. Now I’m a Certified Nurses Aide. My kids and I are living in Weatherford, Texas. We made it.

WE MADE IT!

Diedra Taylor is a GED recipient from Weatherford ISD Adult Education. Her instructor was John Beverung.