Mom’s degree is example for kids

Published 10:16 pm Friday, June 15, 2007

LYNNWOOD – With gold honors cords hanging over the shoulders of her royal blue graduation gown, Mable Liddell realized a dream Friday night.

The 52-year-old Mountlake Terrace woman, who repeated the ninth grade twice before dropping out of high school, received her associate degree in business management and a certificate in office technology from Edmonds Community College.

On hand were her husband, John, and several of their eight adopted children, ages 9 to 19, who had once been in foster care.

Liddell hopes her return to school will underscore to her children the importance of an education.

“I tell them all the time, if you don’t do anything else in life, you have to get an education,” she said. “We preach and teach that at home.”

Liddell was married at 20 but didn’t learn until she was 30 that she was unable to have children of her own.

The couple first adopted a son but then kept adding to their family. Four of their children are biological siblings.

“There are so many African- American children that need a loving home,” she said. “It just breaks your heart when you hear their stories. We just wanted the kids to see that someone really loves them and wants to take care of them.”

Going to college was a scary proposition for someone who dropped out of high school in Milwaukee, Wis., and was in her early 30s before she earned a General Education Development certificate, better known as a GED, in the late 1980s.

Nearing 50 in 2004, she enrolled in community college, drawing inspiration from her oldest son, John, 19, who struggled in school from the beginning but persevered. He will receive his diploma from Mountlake Terrace High School this month.

“I wanted him to see me keep my head up and try hard,” she said. “I wanted to really serve as an example to him.”

John came back for a fifth year of high school to make up missing credits.

John was the second child born to a 16-year-old mom and is thankful for his adoptive parents.

“Failure was not an option, especially with these parents,” he said. “With them, if you start something, you finish it.”

The last three years, John and his adopted siblings have watched their mom strike a balance between school and home, hitting the books while cooking dinner for 10.

More recently, she has added a job at Edmonds Community College to her day.

“She’s worked harder than anyone I ever saw,” John said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.