Giving Compass' Take:

• At the age of 45, and after facing an abusive relationship, Gale Spragg received her high school diploma from Insight School of Kansas. Now, Spragg discusses the challenges she had to overcome and her goals to inspire other women in education.

• What challenges do adult learners face when trying to finish high school? How can schools and nonprofits in the sector accommodate these students? 

• Read about education's female trailblazers.

When I announced my plans to go back to school, my seven-year old grandson told me I was going to need a backpack.

Now, a year and a half after I enrolled at Insight School of Kansas, I have something better. At 45 years old, I have my high school diploma.

I dropped out of school at 18 when my daughter was born and at the time my grandparents made me promise that I would go back to finish my degree. But, over the years, the idea of getting my degree got farther and farther away.

I was working at a grocery store and at different restaurants to support us, without even the time to consider going back to school. Life only got busier. I had my son, found myself in an abusive marriage and I hit rock bottom. By the time I turned 40, I felt trapped.

Read the full story about a grandmother's perseverance to graduate high school by Gale Spragg at The Hechinger Report.