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“I’ve always felt that something big is about to happen in my life. I’m not completely sure what it is, but I know I’m going in the right direction.”
So says Cheri Pace, a wife, mother, and very involved student who wants to find ways to combine her love for writing, social causes, and the law.
“A bachelor’s degree in social work makes sense to me because of the kinds of things I’ve done in the past,” says Cheri, 28, who plans to earn her BSW from Dalton State before applying to law school.
“I love to write, and I’ve always been interested in advocacy issues, so earning a law degree one day seems to be a good fit as well.”
Cheri’s academic journey began a decade ago. The Chattanooga resident graduated from Central High and then briefly attended an area college before marriage and a full-time job took her out of academia. As the mother of two young sons, Cheri assumed leadership roles in such volunteer outreach organizations as Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) and Teen MOPS.
Enrolling in DSC in 2002, Cheri admits that when she arrived, “I didn’t have high expectations of Dalton. But that changed right away.”
In order to succeed in her English 1102 class, Cheri took the Harbrace Handbook for Writers home after her first weekend in school and read the entire book, completing the chapter exercises along the way.
“I was determined I was going to do well,” she says, “and I knew it was going to take a lot of effort.”
Since then, she has continually excelled in the classroom, earning a 4.0 cumulative grade point average. English teachers praised her creative writing ability and encouraged Cheri to become the editor of Tributaries, Dalton State’s student-run literary magazine.
As editor, Cheri had to quickly assemble volunteer committees to help with design and layout, editing, marketing and promotion.
In addition to her literary pursuits, Cheri serves as a member of the Philosophy Club, the Fine Arts and Lecture Series Committee, The President’s Council, and the Student Advisory Committee (SAC). Last fall, she was DSC’s student representative at a breakfast with the Governor in Atlanta and was seated next to him.
“We talked budget,” she says with a laugh. “I would never have had the opportunities at a bigger school that I’ve had at Dalton. I love it.”
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