NATCHEZ — There may not have been a prouder person than Veronica Gamble on graduation night for Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus.

Near death more than once, crippled since childhood, unable to walk without assistance, Gamble reached the pinnacle of a personal mountain that would have intimidated many others in her position.

“My favorite motto is, ‘A winner never quits and a quitter never wins,’” said Gamble, of Natchez.

She was born with both muscular dystrophy and scoliosis, resulting in years of hospitalizations, surgeries and long interruptions in schooling.

Ironically, though, Gamble feels blessed.

“If you would’ve asked me that 15 years ago if I felt blessed or cursed, I would’ve said cursed, but now, I would say blessed because every situation, every moment is a challenging moment; (my affliction) has made me a better person and made me look at life from a different perspective.”

A defining moment came when she had surgery as a young lady and wound up on life support.

“Life support is not a piece of cake but after that I realized I had to look at life from a different perspective. I realized that I had a second chance to be a better person and to never put things off until tomorrow. You know how we always say, ‘Oh I’m going to do that later?’ Well you may not have a chance to do that later.

“I was thinking about what all I missed out on, what all I could have done, all I should have done, and I prayed that if God gave me a second chance that I would accomplish my goal to make something of myself.”

It was then Gamble said she made a promise to go to college.

However, she needed her GED before she could attend Co-Lin. She did not have the opportunity of completing the requirements to graduate from high school.

Several years ago, she met the GED lead instructor Sara Marchbanks at Co-Lin Natchez.

“She knew I was nervous but the people there — the faculty and staff — were so friendly from day one. That’s why I chose to come to Co-Lin.”

The GED, she said confidently, “was a piece of cake.” Then, she took the ACT and scored a 19. Although she could have taken all online classes and remained at home, Gamble said she wanted to attend college.

“I have never been in the classroom growing up because the teachers have always come to the house maybe twice a week for an hour for a day and I never had that experience and I felt that that was something missing from my life. You know you hear other children talk about ‘ooh I went to school; we learned this and we did this,’ but I never experienced that and that was something I always wanted to do.”

She did worry about how people would treat her at Co-Lin.

“Growing up I took (my appearance) very hard because you know as a child people would look at you and want to ask you questions, and I really didn’t know how to handle that situation but now that I have become older and wiser I try to plan the situation, and I tell them that by having muscular dystrophy that doesn’t mean that you have to stop your life and your plans because you know there is something wrong with everybody.”

Often she had her brother and mother walk her into the buildings at Co-Lin, and through the halls to get to classes, the library and other places on campus. Gamble soon realized she made the right decision to attend Co-Lin.

“The kindness the staff, faculty and students showed me will remain with me forever,” she said.

During her time at Co-Lin, Gamble was selected for Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges, and earned a grade point average high enough for induction into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

Graduation, then, was a moving experience.

“This is a very emotional night for me,” she said after commencement. “My eyes are full of tears of joy. I thank God for his blessings; he has allowed me to reach levels I never thought I would reach.”

Gamble’s mother Sandra King said, “God has truly blessed our daughter. We are so proud of her.”

Gamble said she truly has a lot of living and learning still to do.

She plans to continue her college education and pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

“I plan to keep going until I get my Ph.D and become a clinical psychologist,” she said, adding that someday she’d like to be an instructor at Co-Lin.

“My goal has always been to be an inspiration to others because I know how difficult life can be. We all have some rain in our lives; but that does not mean that we should let it stop us from reaching our destination because behinds every rain there is always sunshine.”