Zyon Richardson remembers her cousins graduating from college when she was just 13. “I said I want to be just like you. I want to go to college; I want to get a degree; I want to make my dreams come true.”
Today she’s on her way to doing just that.
Years before Richardson even started at High Point Central, she began to consider how she could make a difference in the world. She heard stories about her grandmother battling and beating cancer, and something about healthcare resonated with her.
With her sights set on nursing she started looking at colleges. “Guilford College is a small private school, not far from home. The more I engaged, the more I realized this is where I wanted to be,” she remembers.
Next came the worry about paying for school. “It was really expensive, and my parents were trying to figure out how are we going to pay for this college for me, so we kept praying.” Scholarship offers came from Guilford and Say Yes Guilford. “I was truly blessed,” she says.
But the world changed in 2020, and by spring of 2021 Richardson faced some tough decisions. She transferred to Forsyth Technical Community College. “With the credits that I earned at Guilford during my two years at Guilford College, I had time to think about my path to success.”
Today she’s on track to graduate with certifications in medical coding and billing. “I love to code, and I like working with my technology,” she says.
In 2023, Richardson expects to be the first woman in her family to earn a college degree. “Say Yes Guilford has really opened opportunities to me and helped me become who I really am.”