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Jodie Hoffman: So I went to high school in the '80s, and I really wasn't very focused as a student at that time. I was an ROP student, and I really enjoyed my typing in shorthand classes, and I graduated high school on Friday. And on Monday, I started working in downtown LA at an insurance firm and then found myself reaching a point where I was doing jobs that were beyond a secretary, but they were sorry they couldn't pay me because I didn't have any college under my belt. So that was kind of discouraging, and I ended up getting married and having kids and got sidetracked and took some time out.

So where I used to be able to get a job very quickly with my ROP skills from high school, I was outdated. And I got a flyer in the mail from Golden Oak Adult School that had all kinds of career training classes and computer-based business classes. I was able to move through the process very quickly. Within less than six months, I was ready for the workforce again through the training that I received at Golden Oak and was able to get a job right away. Right after, I got a part time job at College of the Canyons.

Dave Lebarron: The ROP program, which Jodie was tightly tied to, came under my supervision. There were some people that were laid off, and it really left Jodie and I to oversee the program from the top down.

Mike Kuhlman: I moved here to the district office as an assistant superintendent, and it became apparent that because the department had downsized, that she was the person to be making things happen in our ROP program.

Jodie Hoffman: I was fortunate to be able to surround myself with people who helped guide and support me through this amazing process. I just graduated last August with my master's degree in educational leadership.

Mariane Doyle: It was really about her own self-improvement and her own growth and her own development as a lifelong learner, and I think that those are exactly the pieces that are required of a person who is working as the leader of adult education.

Jodie Hoffman: So now I'm the principal at Golden Oak Adult School, since January of 2017. And this is truly an amazing job. I wake up every day, and I'm so blessed to have this opportunity to give back to the students.

Dave Lebarron: So I think what Jodie brings to the table as an overseer administrator at Golden Oak is truly the ability to say, I've gone through this. I've been there. I've worked my way through Golden Oak into higher education. I'm back now to guide what's happening here. I don't know how a Golden Oak student could meet with Jodie and not see a reflection of where they are and their possibilities.

Mike Kuhlman: She started out as a Golden Oak student, and she understands the challenges associated with life and with family, and sometimes life takes you in different directions, and you find resources to make things possible. I think she's the perfect fit. So now that she has come full circle as the principal, I think she has elevated, in everyone's eyes, the critical nature of adult education in our community.

Mariane Doyle: She's just positioned in such a unique way to be able to not only give back and really provide for opportunities that maybe she had benefited from as a student herself, but also really to make changes to the program so that it better fits the needs of all students.

Jodie Hoffman: I know that I am here in this position today because I had amazing mentors to help me through the process. And I need to give that back. And I want to make an impact on others.

Dave Lebarron: It's like the All-American story. It really is. It says that if you work hard enough, if you apply yourself, if you make good choices, you can be successful.

Mariane Doyle: I'm so proud of her. She's conquered mountains.

Jodie Hoffman: I'm really just an ordinary person, and if I can do it, anybody can do it.