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Published Wednesday, August 26, 2009 in Local

Photo by Alex McRae

Linh Wight, recently accepted as a student at the University of West Georgia, will march across the stage at the Centre for the Performing and Visual Arts and receive her GED Thursday, tangible proof that with hard work and deep faith, anything is possible in the country she now calls home.

Saigon native: I wouldn't trade my GED for a million dollars

By Alex McRae

The Times-Herald

Twenty-two years ago, Linh Wight left Vietnam and came to America with no job, no money and no idea of what her future held.

Inwardly, she shook with fear as she faced a new land, a new culture and a new language. But Wight was determined to succeed and pressed on, driven by a desire as old as humanity.

"I wanted to make something of myself," she says. "Back in Vietnam they said I would never amount to anything. I was never given a chance to pursue freedom. That's all I wanted."

Once she was offered that chance, Wight clung to it fiercely. Thursady night, Linh Wight will march across the stage at the Centre for the Performing and Visual Arts and receive her GED, tangible proof that with hard work and deep faith, anything is possible in the country she now calls home.

"GED is just three letters," Wight says. "But those three letters mean everything to me. I wouldn't trade my GED for a million dollars."

After she receives her diploma, Wight won't have much time to celebrate with her husband and two daughters. Earlier this month, she was accepted at the University of West Georgia and is already attending classes twice a week at the Carrollton campus.

"When I walk across that campus now," she says, "I feel like I'm as good as anybody."

Wight was born and raised in Saigon, in the former South Vietnam. She remembers war, and its aftermath, and a childhood largely void of love, money or food.

Wight was still a child when her mother abandoned her. She was taken in by her grandmother, who did the best she could to raise a young girl in a Vietnamese culture where girls were considered second-class citizens and routinely reminded that education was reserved for those who were rich, well-connected and male.

"They said I was a girl and I was stupid and could not learn," she says. "It hurt really bad."

By age 8, Wight was getting up at 5 a.m. every day. Instead of going to school, she walked barefoot to work, usually without any breakfast. Her pay was 25 cents per day.

Things never got better and when Wight was 18, her grandmother passed away. Terrified at the prospect of facing life without the only person who had ever shown her respect or love, Wight sought to end her life with an overdose of pills.

"I had no one left, so I attempted suicide," she says. "It didn't work and now I'm glad."

One year later, Wight had saved enough money to leave Vietnam and move to Falls Church, Va., to live with her aunt.

Wight found unexpected love and acceptance; but because she couldn't speak English, it was eight months before she found a job. She walked 45 minutes each way to work for $5 an hour.

She tried -- and failed -- to learn English from TV and by listening to Americans on the street. Eventually, she enrolled in English classes at a local YMCA. Wight struggled to pronounce a language totally alien to her ears and read English words that made as much sense as ink blots. Working three jobs left her so tired she often fell asleep during class. She finally quit.

"I was too tired to do it," she says. "It was all too much."

Her lack of English skills left her more reliant on the local Vietnamese community. She soon found that even in America, the old ways held firm.

"They only saw me as a girl who was worth nothing," she says. "I wanted to be seen for what was inside me. I hurt every day."

Things got so bad she considered returning to Vietnam. Instead, she struck out on her own. Wight got married and two daughters came along, but she still felt the need to distance herself from relatives who seemed determined to hold her back.

In 2005, she and her husband decided a new location might lead to a better life. On the Internet, they searched random spots across America. For reasons Wight still can't explain, they chose Georgia. After a brief stop in Peachtree City, the family moved to Newnan.

Wight's husband found work and she took two jobs to help make ends meet. She was starting over again, but Wight never complained. And she never forget the key to her future success.

One night she saw a TV ad for GED classes at the Central Educational Center (CEC), where GED classes were being given by the Adult Education Division of what is now West Georgia Technical College and the Coweta County School System. She mentioned the idea to her daughters, who encouraged her to go back to school.

"They said mom, you're smart, you're pretty, you can do it" she says. "So I decided to try."

The next day she drove to the CEC on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Newnan. Overwhelmed by the sight of the sprawling campus, she was almost too scared to leave the car.

"It was so big I was afraid to go in," she says. "I didn't want to make a fool of myself. I didn't want people to laugh at me."

She went in and was introduced to Joan Meigs, who is in charge of adult literacy classes in Newnan and lead GED instructor. They talked. Wight enrolled and attended classes, but after six months, dropped out.

"It was too much at one time," she says. "It all came too fast for me."

Wight went back to work full-time and cried herself to sleep each night as she watched her dream fade slowly away. Six months later, she was desperate to make a change. Having tried everything else, Wight finally turned to God.

"I got down and prayed," she says. "I said 'God, you brought me here for a purpose. If I'm meant to be here, send me a sign.'"

Instead, God sent her a shopper.

Wight was working in the shoe department at J.C. Penney. The day after she asked God for a sign, Joan Meigs came by looking for a pair of pumps.

Meigs asked Wight why she had quit school and how she was doing. Before Wight could answer, Meigs said her assistant had just left and she needed a replacement. She offered the job to Wight.

Wight tried to beg off, saying she wasn't qualified because of her poor language skills. Meigs knew Wight was a hard worker and felt she'd get along fine with the students. As far as Meigs was concerned, Wight's English wasn't a problem, either.

"It wasn't perfect," Meigs says. "But I figured if a Southern girl like me could understand what she was saying, she'd be fine."

Wight accepted the offer and threw herself into the job. The longer she was there the more she realized how much she had in common with the GED students suffering the same doubts and fears she had experienced.

Wight told them her story and scolded them for not taking advantage of the opportunity the GED offered. She begged them to stick it out and try harder. She did everything but join them in class.

After a year on the new job, Wight had made new friends and was happy at work, but knew she wasn't following her personal path to success. This was driven home one night when her youngest daughter asked her to read a bedtime story. Wight couldn't do it.

"I was so ashamed because I still couldn't read," Wight says. "I cried and cried."

The next day she went to Joan Meigs and said, "I need help."

Meigs re-enrolled Wight in GED classes. This time, Wight was finally ready to work. She rose at 3:30 every morning to study. Each lesson took extra time as Wight wore out her dictionary searching for definitions of the English words that filled her texts. After work, she hit the books again, often until midnight. The work was grueling but her daughters pushed her on, saying "You can do it mom, you can do it."

Wight had other supporters, too.

Newnan's Bob Lowe met Wight while volunteering with CLICK, (Certified Literacy is Coweta's Key), which supplies time, materials, support and tutors to the local adult literacy program.

Lowe remembers how hard Wight worked -- and how much she suffered when things went wrong.

"She failed her very first GED test and I remember seeing her with tears rolling down her face," Lowe says. "I told her to stick with it and keep trying."

Wight did, working harder than ever as Lowe encouraged her with calls, cards and letters.

"I saw something special in her," Lowe says. "With all she's overcome because of the cultural changes and how much she struggled with English, she was a great example of determination to all of us."

Others helped too, including Ann Cole, Marie Swope, Dr. Skip Sullivan, president of West Georgia Technical College and friends at St. George Catholic Church and First Baptist Church of Newnan.

"All those people were strangers, and they took me in and helped me and I thank God every day for sending them to me," Wight says. "They kept me going."

Wight remembers the day when she knew she had turned the corner. Christmas 2007 was approaching and Wight saw Christmas presents everywhere, including under the family tree at home. She remembers asking God what her 2007 present would be .

Just days before Christmas she got word that she had passed her first GED test.

"I was so happy I couldn't believe it," she says. "I started crying again, but this time it was for joy."

Encouraged by a taste of success, Wight attacked the books with a vengeance. In 2008, she did so well she was named as the recipient of the EAGLE (Exceptional Adult Georgian in Literacy Education) award given to one deserving student in the area that includes Douglas, Coweta, Carroll and Haralson Counties. She was one of only 37 students statewide to receive the honor.

Wight continued to excel in class and was overjoyed on July 28 when she received word that she had completed all GED requirements and would graduate on Aug. 27.

Mark Whitlock, CEO of the CEC, has known Wight since she started working for Joan Meigs. "She is an example of what all of us in the community strive for, the chance for each person to perform at their absolute best," Whitlock says. "She's an inspiration to all of us."

Just days after learning she would receive her GED, Wight was accepted at the State University of West Georgia. She is already attending classes with the aid of the Lavinia Barron Scholarship, given in honor of the longtime supporter of adult education in Coweta County.

"I walk across the campus, and I still can't believe it's happening," she says. "Back home the university is only for rich people. I tell everybody to stand up for what you want and not let anyone take your spirit away and you can do anything. I did."

Wight plans to earn a degree in early childhood education and become a teacher. She also plans to write a book. When she does, it should be required reading for all of us.