Annabelle...

After a career orientation course, I was told about CASP and started in the fall of ‘98. It was handy to home. I didn’t have to pay for it. That “Spotlight on Computer Literacy” book was a big plus for me. It was all so convenient. I realized a dream; I can still graduate! It was always something that bothered me, that I didn’t have a high school diploma. I think I was the oldest one there, for a while. I was trying to prove to all the people who said it was a waste of time, that it wasn’t. Sometimes, I’d be tired at night (studying) and would think, “Maybe they’re right. What am I doing?” When I wrote my GED and passed in February/99, I was so proud of myself. I was in the first graduation ceremony that was in Fredericton, at the Chamber of Commerce. If I can do it, other people can.

I stayed in CASP until April. I didn’t feel that I’d really graduated until I finished the program. I wanted to take the physics & biology I’d never taken before. It was a challenge. If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right. I took a six-week Introduction to Computers course at ABC. The day I finished, I got an interview call, from an application that I completed while in CASP. Writing that resumé was part of my practice with computers. I would’ve liked to have taken a typing course, as I have no speed. It would probably help me where I am, taking care of microfilm cards. I was hired on as a community program and I’m the only one that is still there.

From an interview with Annabelle Barton, Minto NB