Hollynn Taylor

I beat every statistic that was laid in front of me, and I’m still beating them."

Hollynn Taylor came to TCC intending to get her GED.

She’d had a child and dropped out of high school as a senior. She was tired of working dead-end jobs and wanted to become a paramedic. Until she met TCC Advisor Theresa Ramos, she thought the first step was to get a GED.

Theresa told her that she’d only have to complete six more credits to finish her high school diploma. She told her about High School 21 +, a low-cost program that allows adults to finish high school. And she talked her into giving it a try.

At her orientation, Hollynn learned about WorkForce, a program that ended up funding not just her tuition, but her childcare and even her parking pass.

Theresa and High School 21+ advisor Katie Heizenrader continued to support Hollynn during her time in the High School 21+ program. Last year she finished her high school diploma, graduating with a 3.87.

Hollynn says that if she’d had supportive, engaging teachers like Staci Snyder (Math) and Michelle Butler (English) in high school, she might not have dropped out in the first place. During her last quarter in the High School 21+ program, she took an English class team-taught by Allison Muir and Blaine Hunt.

“They told me, you’re not going to be a statistic. We’re not going to let you fail,” said Hollynn.

Now, Hollynn wishes she could sit down and talk with all the teen moms and dads who have dropped out. She wants them to know that they can finish high school too.

“I’d tell them, it’s going to be hard, you’re going to want to cry, and you’re going to want to give up. But then you’re going to say, nope, I can do this.”

Now Hollynn is one year into TCC’s EMT program, on her way to becoming a paramedic. She’s still getting workforce funding, and because she met the Financial Aid deadline, she’s also getting a Washington State Opportunity Grant. She’ll graduate this year with her EMT certificate, and continue to work towards her Associate Degree and Paramedic certificate.

“I wanted to do this for my kids,” said Hollynn. “I beat every statistic that was laid in front of me, and I’m still beating them.”