NATCHEZ — For a long time, Keisha Hawkins had to put her education on hold. But now, she’s pursuing it again, and she’s determined to see it through to the end.

When The Dart found Hawkins on Cherokee Street Friday afternoon, she was taking the one day a week she’s not in school to study, take an online quiz and get ready for the weekend.

Hawkins, 31, said she dropped out of school in the ninth grade, something she said she tells her own children she’s not going to let them do. Hawkins said as time went on was she realized she not only wanted to finish school, but that it was important in these times to have a degree.

“As the economy got worse, I looked around and saw how people were struggling,” she said.

So, in 2007 Hawkins got her GED and enrolled at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Her family stood behind her.

“My husband said, ‘It is your job to finish school, you don’t have to work — I will support you,’” Hawkins said.

With that in mind, she started her studies. She was nervous at first, going onto a college campus as a non-traditional student who had been out of school for several years.

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it, but if you apply yourself and work hard, you can,” she said.

“It requires a lot of work, a lot of, ‘OK, it’s time — get up, you’ve got to study.”

But she was determined not to give up, and Hawkins will graduate in May. The desire to better her situation — and thus her family’s situation — has driven her, she said.

“I want to be able to say, ‘I have accomplished this,’ to be able to say, ‘I have been able set this money aside,’” she said. “I don’t want my kids to have to go through college having to take out a lot of loans.”

When she finishes at Co-Lin in May, Hawkins will continue her studies at LSU-Alexandria.

But right now, she’s keeping her focus, working toward graduation.

“Imagine me walking across the field at 31 with three children and a husband,” she said. “I am going to boohoo.”

Hawkins is married to Paul Ford. Her three children are Reshard and Alyiah Hawkins and Exavier Ford.