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If you give a girl an education ...

Layna Weber
  • BY LAYNA WEBER
  • Originally published May 27, 2012 at 5:27 p.m., updated May 27, 2012 at 5:27 p.m.

The Victoria Advocate will be publishing student essays from the Victoria College "What's Your Story?" scholarship competition during the next few weeks. Students were asked to write an essay answering the question, "How has Victoria College changed your life?" Winners of the contest, who will receive a $1,000 scholarship funded by the Victoria College Foundation, will have their essays published last. We welcome letters and columns from all students.

When I think of Victoria College, I revert back to my favorite book, "If you give a mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff. Victoria College has changed my life by teaching me direction. I developed a passion for drama here, and VC gave me an opportunity to develop and use my education in the community. If you give a girl an education, she will have an opportunity to find her potential on her own.

My mother taught ESL and kindergarten, and I followed her to her classes and just knew I could help students like she did. When I graduated high school in 2000, I was ranked 425th in my class and became a full-blown pirate that summer. I soon learned that Victoria College set high standards for education majors, and I failed many attempts to graduate, even sitting out my fair share of semesters for poor academic grades. My friend pointed out that I might need academic help, because I was a special needs student dealing with a sleeping disorder, so I applied to the KEY Center. There, with the help of some fabulous tutors and counselors, I was counseled, encouraged and taught how to change my study habits and focus on life goals. While attending classes, I became involved in Student Services and Student Government, United Campus Ministry and the African American Club. These groups taught me about people and how they see education and how I can help children when I become a teacher.

Through wanting to finish college as soon as I could, I took a class that put my education into focus. I mistakenly thought the Introduction to Theater class would be tiring and childish, but I soon learned my teacher and fellow students had a passion for it, and I soon learned to share that passion as well. "A Fisherman and his Wife," "Aesop's Fables," "Buried Child," and "The Vagina Monologues" are all plays that I took part in, and I learned that I could become those characters and go to another world and tell their story with an effect on the audience. Writing plays, being the lead character, being an understudy, and changing the world of a survivor of abuse in a third world country were all things I could achieve by just speaking a few words.

What I have learned from Victoria College, and how I have used it in the community so far, has changed my life. For the first year, I was the Volunteer Coordinator in the education department at The Texas Zoo in Riverside Park. I learned to be tough-skinned and take constructive criticism as I worked with different aged students and people in the community by teaching them art, science and numbers at Zoo Days and working in the gift shop. I also had the thrill of working at the excavation site in the park and labeling the bones that were found there. Who doesn't want an opportunity to be a paleontologist?

Secondly, I learned perseverance and never to give up on my dream, because I could find different ways to achieve my level of excellence. I know every story has a meaning. My education doesn't just help me. People in the community benefit, and I will pass on the tradition. I learned about education from my mom, and my daughter will learn from me.

Victoria College has truly changed my life. Coming to college to get an Associate's Degree in education gave me a chance to learn that I love acting and theater; that knowledge will help me with teaching and how I approach the world and think about my life. It also gave me an opportunity to help people find their passions and follow them. Victoria College has changed my life by showing me how to live in the Victoria community and educating me on drama. These both set the stage for my future and complement each other. If you give a girl an education, like you give a mouse a cookie, the girl is going to want to learn more to use that knowledge in a powerful way.

Layna Weber is soon planning to relocate to Kerrville from Victoria. She is 30 years old and is working toward a degree in education with plans to work toward a bachelor's degree.