Vita’s Director of Literacy & High School Programs, Mercedes Anderson, and Lisa Tarity, scholarship recipient, at the Women in Business Awards Dinner
Doylestown (June 26, 2012) Lisa Tarity was one of four recipients of this year’s Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Scholarships. The scholarships were awarded at the Annual Awards Dinner on June 7, at the Spring Mill Manor in Ivyland.
A Levittown resident, Lisa attended Vita Education Services’ GED preparation classes at the Career Link in Bristol. She passed the GED test in 2010 and, with the help of the scholarship, will be attending Bucks County Community College this fall.
Lisa didn’t have much interest in school as a teenager, she said, and dropped out of high school at 16. The years passed and work and raising three children took precedence over continuing her education. When she was laid off from her full-time job as a retail store manager, she decided – with her now “adult mindset” – that it was an opportunity to pursue a new career. With her son entering high school, she decided to lead by example and get her GED. This September, both she and her son will be starting college.
The Vita GED class that Lisa attended was taught by Vita’s Director of Literacy and High School Programs, Mercedes Anderson. The class was “overwhelming – in a good way” and Lisa credits Mercedes with helping keep her motivated to complete the class and earn her GED. Mercedes later recommended Lisa for the scholarship.
“I had to complete an application, write an essay, and be interviewed by the committee. I was so excited to be chosen to receive this scholarship,” Lisa said. Her husband, father and sister attended the awards dinner with her, along with Mercedes. Lisa plans to pursue a career in social service.
