Black Truth News: At what age did you start this?
Dr. Diane Simpson: Well the answer is two folded. Maybe over 20 or 25 years ago; I started a youth for positive change in the community where I live. I worked with the kids in the community and I did all kinds of things; I took them on trips and it was tutoring for the youth. That challenged me to go back and get my degree. I didn’t go back until I was over 25 and that was because a young lady came into a store I was working at, she said you need to be somewhere else; you need to go back to school. I resisted but she helped me filled out the application, actually she filled it out herself, she asked me the questions, wrote down the answers and mailed it out herself. I wouldn’t have done it myself, I didn’t have the confidence. It’s just like the parents today that I talked to, they don’t have the confidence. Some of them say ‘It’s all over, I didn’t finish school, and people tell them: “you should have thought of that before you had children.” I was a victim of that also, believing no one would help me go to school.