Latoya the comeback kid

SHE WAS A 14-year-old third form student at Deighton Griffith Secondary School when she became pregnant.But Latoya Goodridge was not of the view that being with child meant the end of the line.She had goals she wanted to achieve and, despite the tongue-lashing she got from some people around her, she went back to school after she had her baby.However, though willing and ready to continue on her educational journey, shortly after re-entering school, Latoya was forced to leave and find herself a full-time job to take care of her little one. Today, at 21, this Four Roads, St Philip resident is a proud single mother of two, holding six Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) certificates, the majority of which she acquired studying on her own.She is the holder of Grade 2s in English language, office administration, social studies, human and social biology, electronic document preparation and management (EDPM), and a Grade 3 in mathematics. “[While working] I did not have time to go to classes, but one day my supervisor told me that you could study at home and do CXCs. So, I only started doing my CXCs three years ago, because I had to take care of my son by myself, and then I got my daughter, and I didn’t have anyone to look at them if I went to classes. “That is what kept me from furthering my studies earlier. I thought the only way you could do CXCs is if you went to classes. I did my first four subjects on my own at home, and then I went to classes for a computer subject and maths,” said the mother of seven-year-old Chad and three-year-old Shadea.    And while the Emerald City Supermarket baker acknowledges it was her responsibility to achieve the above subjects, she admits that “it was very difficult for me studying on my own”.“I had to go to work, and then come home and deal with the children, and cook and clean. And I don’t have any mummy or daddy to help me with my children, because they don’t live with me. “Sometimes, before I start to study I would tell myself how tired I am: ‘Can I do this tonight?’“Many times I would go to bed around midnight, [having] set my phone to wake me up early in the morning to do some more studying. And I still had to help my son do his homework, teach him to read and write. “But I have a mindset that I don’t have to work so hard all the time. I will work hard now to achieve my goals, and then I could have a happy life.”Latoya is ever thankful to the Lord for helping her to get back her CXCs, and takes pleasure especially in letting those who criticised her when she became pregnant know of her accomplishment.“In school I always did well; school was a very big part of my life. People in my neighbourhood used to say look what I gone and do; before I go to school and learn. Look how I gone and got a child.“Even when I went back to school my stepfather would discourage my mother from sending me by saying: ‘Let her stay home and keep the child; she will go to classes later’. But nobody ever looked to send me to classes after that. “I am so proud of myself that sometimes I begin to cry when I see how far I got . . . . I always tell myself whatever I’ve got to do, I must succeed at it,” Latoya said.As for her plans for the future, “I’m thinking about teaching . . . . I wanted to become a doctor, but as time went on I said I wanted to be a nurse. I applied to BCC [Barbados Community College] for about two years straight to go and do the nursing programme, but I didn’t get through,” the young mother said.“So then I started thinking of my children and the hours nurses work. [And] I decided to work towards becoming a teacher, because I love children and I want a job that I would be comfortable and happy in.”Latoya believes that “if you get children at an early age, it doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world”. Her advice to those who find themselves in the situation she has been in? “Set goals, and you will accomplish them once you put in the time and energy,” she said as she wiped away tears of joy.