-- Mickie Coxen-Taylor SR Regional Environmental Coordinator, AEP
At the age of seventeen, I found out my life was going to change forever when the home pregnancy test I took showed positive. I took another test and then another, thinking these tests must be defective but they weren’t. At that point I felt sick to my stomach, alone, lost, and horribly frightened. What will my boyfriend do when I tell him? How do I tell my parents and my friends? What will people say about me? Am I going to be a good mom? I was an honor student so thoughts of not graduating high school and being able to go on to college festered in my mind. I felt so hopeless and I had so much fear of the unknown. I truly felt like I had nowhere to go.
After weeks of turmoil and emotional struggle, I found the courage to talk to my boyfriend, my parents and my friends. The fall out from those discussions were not at all what I expected: I soon found out I was going to be a single parent. I was devastated. Things seemed to be going from bad to worse. And then my mother told me of a program for pregnant and parenting teenage mothers who are trying to finish high school. Shortly thereafter, I transferred from Broken Arrow High School to the Margaret Hudson Program. Just simply walking through the doors, I felt so welcomed and supported by the staff, so safe and secure. I was surrounded by girls facing the same life altering changes that becoming a teenage mother brings and it was so comforting to have peer support, acceptance and understanding. I was able to continue my education and also learned how to take care of my baby! Along that journey I made life long friends, not only with students at the Program but staff as well; relationships so special that I simply can not put their meaning into words.
On March 19th, 1989 my son Bryce was born. With my very first gaze into his big eyes I knew I had made all the right decisions and that we were going to be just fine. I graduated high school on time and remember fondly hearing my son’s cries from the audience as I waited to receive my diploma. Years later, I have completed a Graduate degree and my baby boy has now graduated high school. A talented soccer player, he now plays soccer at a local university on scholarship. I ponder the course of my life often, and although being a teenage mom had its share of adversity and certainly made reaching my goals challenging, my ultimate reward is looking at my success and the success of my “Margaret Hudson Baby”; success that IS the Margaret Hudson Program.
-- Kimberly D. Flowers-Jackson News Reporter, KTUL Channel 8
When I think about the Margaret Hudson programs, I gather fond memories from a very turbulent time in my life. An outstanding high school student, becoming a teen mother was the last thing anyone expected from me. Margaret Hudson was truly a life saver, because it gave me an opportunity to birth a future that no one could have predicted for me. Presently I am morning news reporter for KTUL Channel 8, and a very happy mother of four children. While at Margaret Hudson, I delivered twins, Brendan and Brooke. They are now 19, and headed to college. I finished college myself, at the University of Tulsa in 1996. I am pleased to say that I have done everything that I set out to do, and what I have not accomplished has been because of my own will, not lack of opportunity. Margaret Hudson gave me the assistance to finish my high school education and to think even further ahead. Today, as I volunteer for the school, I have formed a bond with former students, in particular Mickie Taylor. It is so enlightening and inspirational to work with women who have endured as much or possibly more than I, and still have the heart to grow, and to give back to a school that gave us all, so much.
-- Kasey Wright-Cummins Food Service Industry
I’m Kasey Wright-Cummins, and I was a student at the Broken Arrow Margaret Hudson Program in 1991-1992. MHP helped our family in so many ways, that I don’t even know where to begin. However, one that comes to mind as being extremely beneficial to me was being empowered with the skills, knowledge & confidence to know that I could successfully be a good teen Mom. The fact that I was able to have my daughter with me and bonding during my entire day, was so valuable. Also, unfortunately when you become a pregnant teen, you don’t always have the support of your friends. Through MHP I gained so many new friends, who could relate with what I was going through. My MHP Baby is now seventeen, and I’m very proud of the choices she is making in her life and hope she continues. For those teens who do find themselves pregnant though, I’m so thankful that MHP will be there for them. Because of the incredible support that our family had from MHP, and our belief in the impact it has on teen Moms and families, my Mom, Daughter and I have made a commitment to stay involved in volunteer efforts for the Program.
-- Laura Cain Executive Assistant, Emerge Interactive Media
Before the autumn of 1998, I had big plans for my future. My time outside of school was divided neatly between a hostess job at a local diner, my friends, and church. I had racked up almost 3,000 hours of volunteer services through my youth group and was given the opportunity for a scholarship to a prestigious seminary as a way out of poverty and the domestic abuse in which I grew up. On November 1,1998 my plans changed. I was so ill I could barely stand and after specialists and doctors examined me for all manners of sickness I was given my prognosis: I was pregnant at 15 with twins.
During my months in the care of the wonderful women at MHP, I learned how to care for my body, I learned how to care for my daughters, and I learned how to reluctantly ask for help.
I remember lamenting how much I had lost by getting pregnant and wondering out loud over and over again what I would do the rest of my life. Thankfully I heard without cease, “These thoughts, these fears are normal. Whether you are 15 or 20 or 25 or 30, you still wonder. Laura, it’s not crisis, it is life, and you will survive.” Nothing has been easy since my daughters were born and we’ve experienced some serious ups and downs. I have a hard time expressing my gratitude to the staff of MHP. Thanks to them I believe I turned my situation from a very bleak one into one of success and achievement. I feel like I’ve given so little back for all I received and wonder if they know how much they still affect our daily lives. It’s amazing to think I’m still relying on advice that has in every unforeseen situation proven true: Laura, it’s not crisis, it’s life, and you will survive.