Ayla Thompson said she didn’t think a college degree would ever be an attainable goal.
Thompson, 32, grew up in Wallingford and attended Mill River Union High School, but struggles with drugs and addiction led to her dropping out for a time during her senior year.
She finally graduated a semester late, but her troubles were just beginning.
Through the following 13 years, Thompson said she went down a “really bad path.”
“I didn’t really think I was going to ever amount to anything and kind of told myself that I was meant to be a drug addict,” she said.
She got sober for a time in 2010 when she was pregnant with her son Gregory, however, the pain medication doctors prescribed following the difficult delivery resulted in her using again.
“I took them all properly until the last six pills, and then that was it — I went right back down my journey again,” she said.
By 2019, Thompson knew she needed to make a change.
“Years and years of struggling. I was, honestly, just sick and tired of being sick and tired,” she said. “I wanted better for my life. I just didn’t know how.”
So she asked for help.
Thompson’s case manager at the Department for Children and Families connected her with an employment specialist, who helped her enroll at the Community College of Vermont in Rutland.
Initially, she agreed to sign up for one class to see how she liked it.
On Saturday, Thompson will graduate from CCV with an associate’s degree in behavioral science.
“If anybody were to say five years ago that I was going to live a sober life, be happy and have an amazing career with benefits and (be) graduating from college … I wouldn’t believe it for a second,” she said.
When she accepts her diploma Saturday, Thompson will be one of 53 CCV-Rutland graduates and more than 450 statewide in this year’s graduating class whose ages range from 17 to 69. Almost 300 of those graduates, like Thompson, are first-generation students, according to CCV officials.
Thompson admitted getting her degree was not without its challenges but said she benefited from the various resources available to CCV students, like the TRIO program, a federally funded student support services program that helps eligible students meet their academic and career goals.
“When I got here, I didn’t realize the support I was going to have — not just with my adviser, but with the college in general,” she said.
In addition to attending classes, Thompson became a work-study student and eventually was hired as an administrative assistant at CCV-Rutland, where she still works.
To achieve her goals, she said she had to learn how to find balance and practice self care, which she noted is not always easy for her.
“Even with my addiction, I have always been somebody to take care of others before I take care of myself,” she said. “And so I had to realize with balancing life, school, parenting and work and stress, that it was OK to say ‘no’ to people and it was OK to put myself first. Because if I didn’t put myself first then I wasn’t at my best to help everybody else and my son.”
After graduation, Thompson said she is taking a semester off before starting at Castleton University, where she plans to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and eventually become a drug and alcohol counselor.
Cody Miller, Thompson’s adviser at CCV, called her a passionate, well-rounded individual who stands out among his students.
“I was just struck by her organization and her willingness to make sacrifices so that she could meet her various obligations,” he said.
Miller, who has known Thompson since last summer, said her empathy and desire to help people has added brightness to the CCV community and will serve her well in her future career.
“Ayla is just really somebody who tries to create a warm environment wherever she is,” he said. “She really tries to make wherever she is the best place that it can be.”
Through all her struggles, Thompson said she has learned that “hard work and determination does pay off.”
“As horrible as that 13 years of my addiction was — and I would never wish it on my worst enemy — it’s also something that I would never regret,” she said. “Because of that I have a passion, I have desire, and I have a motivation to want to help others now.”
Thompson said she hopes her story can inspire others to do the same. She noted, however, that sometimes the first and often most difficult step is asking for help.
“There’s always been a stigma (around) being afraid to ask for help,” she said. “And that’s one thing that I realized … being able to ask for help and being honest with yourself and others is going to get you so far.”
jim.sabataso
@rutlandherald.com