{"id":7663,"date":"2019-12-14T05:48:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-14T10:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=7663"},"modified":"2019-12-12T15:40:11","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T20:40:11","slug":"students-success-defies-all-odds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2019\/12\/14\/students-success-defies-all-odds\/","title":{"rendered":"Student\u2019s Success Defies All Odds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"kasey
(l-r) First-ever EAGLE Academy graduate Kasey Hayes stands with her student mentor Amanda Floyd at Georgia Southern\u2019s Spring 2019 Commencement<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Georgia Southern University\u2019s Spring 2019 Commencement carried greater significance for Kasey Hayes. She became the first student to complete the University\u2019s EAGLE Academy program and participate in the ceremony alongside Eagle Nation graduates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was very emotional at graduation,\u201d said Hayes. \u201cI was picked on in high school and middle school. People would put me down. They told me I wouldn\u2019t be able to make it in college or that I wouldn\u2019t even be able to go to college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the help of EAGLE Academy, an inclusive post-secondary education program offering Equal Access to Gainful Learning and Employment (EAGLE) to students with mild intellectual disabilities, Hayes was able to prove them wrong. She was one of the first students to enroll in the program when it began in fall 2017. Hayes says she worked harder in her college classes than she has ever worked before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I would be the person I am now if I had not gone to Georgia Southern,\u201d she said. \u201cEAGLE Academy has made me a more sociable person. They taught me about finances and helped me learn how to be independent and responsible.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Georgia Southern University\u2019s Spring 2019 Commencement carried greater significance for Kasey Hayes. She became the first student to complete the University\u2019s EAGLE Academy program and participate in the ceremony alongside Eagle Nation graduates. \u201cI was very emotional at graduation,\u201d said Hayes. \u201cI was picked on in high school and middle school. People would put me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":7664,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,60],"tags":[62],"class_list":["post-7663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-up-front","tag-fall-2019"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t