From expulsion to graduation

Six years ago, Taylor Hall had been expelled in eighth grade and didn’t know what her future would be.

Now, Hall is graduating from the Center Grove Alternative Academy with plans to become a dialysis technician.

As a child, Hall’s family members reminded her how important a high school diploma would be in order to get a job and move on with her life.

“I’ve always heard, growing up, ‘You got to get your high school diploma, you got to get it,’” Hall said.

At the beginning of the school year, that advice came to mind again when she was thinking about giving up.

“Life just hit me, and I found myself homeless, without a job, without a license at the time, with no high school diploma, and I was just like, ‘I can’t even get a job at FedEx,’” Hall said.

Hall always had been interested in working in the medical field, but after job shadowing a family friend who is a nurse, she decided that wasn’t the right path for her. But then Hall decided to shadow her sister, who has been a dialysis technician for more than 10 years.

She fell in love with the profession, Hall said.

Now that Hall has found a career she’s passionate about, finishing her high school diploma seemed more obtainable, she said.

“I guess just seeing a future for myself, and seeing how much I realized I cared about myself in the future and what I wanted to do, to just better myself, to stay and just get it done with,” Hall said.

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Name: Taylor Hall

Age: 19

Residence: Center Grove area

Graduating from: Center Grove Alternative Academy

Future plans: Become a dialysis technician

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