Monica Baxley

“The one thing I say to some of the people is
‘if I can do it anybody can’.”

Monica Baxley is a 45-year-old native of Florida who dropped out of school in the ninth grade.  As a child, she had a learning disability that her school did not suitably address, leading to her having very limited literacy skills as an adult.

After a series of uncomfortable and unsuccessful adult education classroom experiences, Baxley was motivated to return to adult education at the Literacy Volunteers of Washington County (LVWC) to help her only child with homework.  LVWC appealed to Baxley because of its one-on-one format, thereby allowing her to keep her limited reading ability under wraps.  Baxley obtained her GED within eight months of starting at LVWC and now speaks out freely about her experience in hopes of encouraging others to go back to school.  “I speak to anybody that will listen to me about literacy,” said Baxley.

Currently, Baxley is a volunteer teacher with the Country Oaks Learning Center in Washington County.  She is also a literacy ambassador and student advocate, serving on the Board of Directors for the Florida Literacy Coalition and VALUE, a national organization of adult learners. She has helped three people get their GEDs and in 2004, received the Florida Literacy Coalition’s “Flight for Freedom: Outstanding Student Achievement” award.    

Words of Encouragement: There are no barriers you cannot get through and there really is the help out there.  If you are willing to do it there really are people out there to help you reach your goals.  The one thing I say to some of the people is “if I can do it anybody can.”

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