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“Technical education can help change the lives of families and their futures,” said West Georgia Technical College President Dr. Skip Sullivan. “We congratulate both Brandy and Donald on their accomplishments.”
Dentmon and Turner began contemplating going back to school when Turner was given a third round lay off in December 2008 and had a hard time finding work. Dentmon is working as a temporary employee at Sony through a staffing agency but lacked the qualifications for a more permanent position.
“I kept telling Brandy that she needed to go back and get her degree,” said Dentmon who resides in Tallapoosa. “She said ‘I will if you will!’ So we did.”
After making the decision to go back to school, Dentmon and Turner began studying for the COMPASS exam.
“We knew we could start on level if we just did well on that test and we did! We both did great,” said Turner who lives in Temple. “I am so proud of him especially; he had been out of school much longer than I had.”
After getting accepted in April 2009, Turner enrolled in the Registered Nursing program on the Murphy Campus and Dentmon enrolled into the Electronics Technology program on the Carroll Campus. Both Dentmon and Turner continued working during school and encouraged each other when times got tough.
“I’ve encouraged her and she’s encouraged me. It’s been fun,” said Dentmon.
Turner recalls the challenges her father faced when he took his first required computer class. “He found a great deal on a computer and then had [Microsoft] Vista installed on it; so he had to teach himself not only how to use Vista but also find out how to convert that knowledge over to the computer class,” said Turner. “I was worried for him. He would tell me that he stayed up until 4 and 5 a.m. just to get it all done, plus at that time he only had dial-up service. Talk about dedication!”
Dentmon faced the biggest challenge when his mother passed away after he took a quarter off from school to help take care of her when her health began to deteriorate.
“She’d be real proud that I finished,” said Dentmon.
Despite the challenges they faced, Dentmon and Turner surpassed all of their expectations together. Dentmon made the President’s List every quarter and finished with a 4.0 GPA while Turner accepted a position with Tanner Health System in the Villa Rica emergency department as a Registered Nurse. Both Dentmon and Turner are proud of their accomplishments and even more proud that they were able to do it together.
“She always manages to come through for me,” said Dentmon. “She’s a great person; I’m so proud of her.”
Graduation will be held January 19 on the Murphy Campus at 7 p.m. West Georgia Technical College President Dr. Skip Sullivan will be the keynote speaker.