This girl deserves a pat on the back...

**KKCondrey** · 05-05-2004, 07:31 AM

I saw this while reading the job listings in the local newspaper on line. This girl definatly deserves a pat on the back.....

Two weeks before she graduates from high school, 18-year-old Amber Manis will graduate from college.

On Saturday, Manis will participate in Walters State Community College's commencement. Exactly two weeks later on May 14, she will graduate from Rutledge High School.

To accomplish this feat, Manis has taken as many night and summer classes at Walters State as she could fit into her busy schedule - she also works part time - since her junior year.

She was able to take college-level classes while still in high school through Walters State's advanced studies program for high school juniors and seniors, which she says she learned about after receiving a brochure in the mail.

"My friends are always asking me, 'How do you get it all done?'" said Manis, who has a 3.89 GPA at Walters State and will graduate as the valedictorian of Rutledge High School.

Another question she says her fellow students at Walters State often ask: "Why are you in such a hurry to finish college?"

What many of her peers at Walters State don't know is that Manis is the mother of a two-year-old girl.

"After I had my daughter, I realized that I had to make it on my own somehow," she said.

So she decided she needed to get through college and start a career as fast as she could.

Manis, a psychology major, will transfer to Tusculum College this fall, where she says she will graduate in a year and a half. She will then attend graduate school and hopes to earn a doctorate in psychology by the time she's 23 or 24.

"I want to counsel and help others, especially teen-age mothers," she said.

Manis said many people had preconceived notions about what her life would be like after she got pregnant.

"I feel like some people look down on teen-age mothers and view them as outcasts," she said.

With her personal experience and her education, Manis said she will do what she can to change that stereotype.

While achieving her goals at breakneck pace and raising a daughter has kept her busy, Manis said she still finds some time to be a teenager.

She makes time to hang out with friends, and she recently attended her high school prom.

"Like anyone my age, I still like to have fun," she said.

©Citizen Tribune 2004

**lucy979** · 05-05-2004, 08:27 AM

What a wonderful story! I am so proud of her and hope she gets everything she wants in life. But I don't think that will be a problem!

**Michelle** · 05-05-2004, 08:28 AM

Wow, I'm impressed.

She must have one heck of a support system to care for her dd while she took all those classes.

**Julia Kimber** · 05-05-2004, 09:20 AM

That's fantastic Kathryn!

Julia

**Missy** · 05-05-2004, 10:40 AM

wow, that is a teen dedicated to bettering her life, her dd's life. I love to read these kinds of stories.

**milach** · 05-05-2004, 10:56 AM

Wow! Talk about not letting ANYONE hold her down and tell her she can't do it! What an awesome story!!

**SusieJD** · 05-05-2004, 11:14 AM

What a great person! It just proves that you can do anything if your mind and heart is in it! This is something to be so proud of! What a woman!

Susie in MN

**SewCrafty** · 05-05-2004, 01:00 PM

She is truly amazing!

I hope she can help many young girls in the same situation see that it isn't a dead end. There are lot of doors and windows out there if you just have the courage to open one.

**guest2** · 05-05-2004, 08:02 PM

Thanks for sharing this!!! It's very inspiring!

**frugalmel** · 05-05-2004, 10:38 PM

Thats wonderful!! I hope she succeds in all she tries. Its good that she can help teens know that although they didn't make the greatest choice when they got pregnant, its not a "death sentence" to their dreams.