85美元40美分对某些人来说可能听起来不是很多，但对来自哥伦布的41岁的拉基塔·哈里斯来说，它却改变了世界。 The $85.40 meant Harris was able to walk across the stage at 永利博彩’s spring commencement ceremony in January knowing her cap, gown, and graduation fee were covered. 拉克塔·哈里斯（Laketta哈里斯）全职工作，上满课，帮助十几岁的女儿和现在六岁的孙子做功课，今年春天，她获得了商业技术副学士学位。

CTC商业技术学位毕业生，中风幸存者，最后一英里学者，Laketta哈里斯

像许多哥伦布理工学院的学生一样，哈里斯发现自己在支付学费方面陷入了经济紧张的境地。 她有资格获得一些联邦佩尔基金，并向学院及其基金会提供的奖学金寻求帮助，以弥补差额。 当她听说最后一英里奖学金时，她知道她必须申请。 它是为像哈里斯这样的学生量身定制的，他们需要额外的一点推动才能到达终点线。 作为一名信仰坚定的女性，拉克塔·哈里斯（Laketta哈里斯）感到有一种更高的力量在她获得毕业费用方面发挥了作用。

“It was divine intervention that I found out about Last Mile in that moment and at that time,” Harris remembered. “Everything was hitting at once. 我的汽车保险，账单，毕业费，还有其他一切。 他们必须同时得到报酬。 I couldn’t have done it otherwise.”

拉基塔·哈里斯对艰难时期再熟悉不过了。 2014年的一天晚上，她突然发现自己无法系上头巾，撞到了家具上，感觉失去了平衡。 她丈夫很快就看到她的脸耷拉着。 哈里斯中风了。 After eight days in the hospital, countless doctor’s visits and physical therapy where she had to learn to walk and write again, Harris is doing much better.

“I had to learn everything from scratch but most importantly, I learned not to take anything for granted,” Harris said. “It showed me I could do anything. Once I showed myself, there’s no stopping me.”

Today, Laketta哈里斯 is enrolled at Georgia 军事 College pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. All of her Columbus Tech coursework transferred over and she’s plugging along, one day at a time, with the memory of an $85.40 deposit that made a world of difference.