LCCC Grad Overcomes Challenges to be First in Family to Graduate from College

Angel Buckles’ college experience was different from most others. When she was 15 years old, she had to drop out of high school because she was pregnant with her daughter and was married when her daughter was only a month old. “I never thought that I would go back to school because I had kids so young and that I got married at a young age,” admits Angel. “But, I wanted to be able to take care of my family.”

She will be graduating with her certificate of proficiency in practical nursing. “No one in my family has ever graduated from college, so I never dreamed that I would,” said Buckles. “LCCC made it easy for me to succeed.” 

Before enrolling at LCCC, Buckles received her GED in 2004 while pregnant with her son. It took her a couple of years to get through her prerequisites at LCCC, because she could only take two classes at a time. 

“I had to get a full time job to support my new family,” Buckles said. Now she has been struggling with her expenses because she cannot work as much due to the requirements of clinicals. “I have no time to work between school and taking care of my kids,” said Buckles. “My husband has been the only one working for a whole year. I never would have made it through if it was not for my husband and my family helping me out. My husband has always been there, bad days and good.”

Angel chose LCCC because she had heard from her friends how they enjoyed their experiences and that financial aid was available for students. “LCCC helped me pay for my school through financial aid, which helped out a lot,” said Buckles. 

“It has been hard on my family while I have been attending school,” admits Buckles. “I hope everything will work out now that I will be able to work as a LPN.” 

She plans on working for a year as a LPN to get the experience she needs and then continuing her schooling to become an RN and go through the access program for RNs. “I have had a great experience in the LPN program,” said Buckles. “The instructors are helpful and understanding, they are always there to help you at the hospital and review the lecture tests with you. I think that attending LCCC and going through the LPN program gave me the skills and confidence needed to be a great nurse.”