A local woman overcomes the odds to graduate college.
It's taken more than 50 years but Olynthia Chancy, a single mother of two has graduated with two associates degrees from LCC.
The family gathered Friday night to celebrate her success and take a look back at the long and difficult road to graduation
Olynthia Chancy had a dream.
Chancy: "I always wanted to be a scientist, ever since I was a kid."
But she made some mistakes.
Chancy: "I dropped out in the 8th grade."
Years later her daughter seemed to be following in her footsteps when she contemplated dropping out of MSU.
Shane Chancy, Daughter: "I told her well you don't really know what its like, no one in the family does cause no one has gone straight thru the way that I have."
Chancy: "As a parent you lead by example"
So Chancy decided to change the example. She enrolled at LCC.
Chancy: "I wanna matter, I wanna contribute. I just had a made up mind and I'm like by any means necessary, I'm going to do what it is that I have to do."
And that meant long hours in the classroom and not exactly fitting in.
Chancy: "A lot of times students thought I was a teacher but no-- I'm a student."
She also struggled to overcome a brain injury from a 1995 car accident.
Chancy: "I had difficulty comprehending and explaining things."
Making learning difficult.
Chancy: "I was frustrated, I was overwhelmed, every step of the way that's what I did, I would ask for help."
And after six years of studying, Chancy graduated with associates degrees in both engineering and math and physics.
Chancy: "I am so excited! I no longer feel hopeless, I have purpose"
Shane Chancy: "She essentially called my bluff. I'm really proud of her that she stuck with it because it was really hard for her."
And now her daughter has a new example to follow.
Shane Chancy: "She perseveres and she taught us to persevere and just push forth for what you want."
And what Chancy wants now is a masters degree.
