Student Success
Cassandra Montgomery
Dallas, TX
M.Ed. in Adult and Lifelong Learning
"I have always had a passion for teaching and leading my community in the right direction. (This program) will enhance my ability to become a better leader for the adult learners, my children and the community."
Cassandra Montgomery’s goal after graduation is to expand the services offered by her adult education center and provide other adult education programs besides GED Test Preparation. She intends to use her Master of Education in Adult and Lifelong Learning degree at the University of Arkansas to help fulfill that dream.
“My decision to go back to school was based on my role as a parent and on the vision, mission and goals for my business, the Opportunities for Success Education Center,” she said. “I have always had a passion for teaching and leading my community in the right direction. (This program) will enhance my ability to become a better leader for the adult learners, my children and the community.”
Montgomery has been teaching since 2006 and has impacted the lives of many individuals. In 2016, her church started its first adult education program for GED preparation that she helped launch.
“Once the GED program was announced and marketed, there were so many responses from individuals all over Dallas/Fort Worth,” Montgomery said. “Unfortunately, many were located out of the area. This prompted me to start my own adult education center. In 2017, I founded and started Opportunities for Success Education Center to serve adult learners in the [Dallas/Fort Worth] metroplex. I want to provide the adult learners in my community with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in their life.”
Montgomery is one of 23 people to receive the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship for online U of A students for the 2020-2021 academic year.
“Receiving the scholarship shows that my hard work, dedication and long nights of studying are not being done for nothing,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery said her role as a parent is to show her children that they can do and be anything in life with hard work, motivation and the willingness to learn.
“The same motivation and encouragement that I instill in my children, I provide to the adult learners on a daily basis,” she said. “This scholarship will help me continue to pursue my dream to help others in the community.”
