LYNN — Second chances are hard to come by, unless you’re a student at Pathways, Inc.
Three years ago, 32-year-old Courtney Scali never would have imagined herself striving or accomplishing anything, she said. But, after three months of hard work, she, along with more than 60 other graduates, walked across the Lynn Classical High School stage on Thursday to get her GED diploma from Pathways, an adult education and training center.
“This moment is a very significant part of my life,” she said to the audience during her speech.
Scali said she was born with a deep void and emptiness inside of her, which she began filling with alcohol by the age of 13. She sought negative attention at home and misbehaved at school, which led to her expulsion in eighth grade. She said she felt as though she was on a path of self destruction.
The summer after being expelled, Scali said she found out she was pregnant.
“I was young and incapable of stability and incapable of love,” she said. “But I tried to do the best I could with what I knew.”
She said the spiral didn’t stop and her alcohol abuse turned into a taste for drugs and she continued to drown her pain for years. Twelve miserable years later and she finally woke up, she said.
The mother of four moved into a treatment program at age 26 and was in and out until the age of 30. In a few months, Scali said she will celebrate three years of sobriety. She said she saw a flyer for Pathways at her treatment program and immediately signed up to take the placement test.
Beginning last September, she took classes three nights a week and finished the program in December. By January, she already started taking classes for a two-year program at North Shore Community College. She is working toward getting a master’s degree in therapy with hopes of building a career as a drug and alcohol counselor.
Scali is not the only one who has been able to defy odds with help from Pathways. More than 60 people walked across the stage on Thursday, each with their own story of struggle and triumph. There were students from all over the world, some who were awarded for obtaining U.S. citizenship through the center’s program, and others who worked hard to learn English.
Pathways CEO Edward Tirrell said this was one of the center’s biggest graduating classes in many years. Board President Joseph Phillips said each of the graduates sitting before him worked extremely hard to better their lives and the lives of their families.
“These graduates are now equipped to make a difference and we as a community at large are excited to see it,” Phillips said. “It is said that hard work usually leaves a mark and I am confident your hard work will leave a mark on everyone you come in contact with.”
