Berkeley County School District holds a total of 10 graduations at the end of every spring semester, but one of them is not quite like the others.
There is still the Pomp and Circumstance March, and there is still the presentation of diplomas, but because BCSD’s Adult and Community Education program does not have a valedictorian and salutatorian, they involve their graduates a little differently by asking a couple of them to share their story about why they went back to school during the ceremony.
For that reason, this graduation is oftentimes a tearjerker – not just for the faces in the crowd, but for the faces in the caps and gowns. The Adult and Community Education graduation ceremony celebrates a couple different groups of people: those who completed the English as a Second Language program, those who did the High School Diploma program, and those who finished the High School Equivalency Diploma/GED program. VIEW PHOTOS.
When she took the podium to deliver welcoming remarks during the 2026 commencement exercises, Brittany Mitchell said she stood before the crowd humbled and honored – “not just as a graduate but as someone who understands the profound journey of self-discovery, and the resilience of the human spirit.”
Mitchell’s story includes a lot of personal tragedies and hardships that affected her for a long time. Driven by faith and her need to show up for her children – and her sister’s children – Mitchell’s back-to-school journey has birthed a whole new person with a different outlook on life, and her diploma is about to open so many new doors for her.
A chokehold
Mitchell is 33 years old and grew up in Pineville. She endured a challenging childhood that only became more difficult when she became pregnant at 16 years old.
Mitchell previously attended Timberland High and kept attending school during her pregnancy but dropped out after she gave birth to her son in 10th grade. Her child’s father passed away a year later in a tragic accident, leaving Mitchell in a depressive state that affected her for 15 years. She job-hopped with no real ambition to do much of anything to better her circumstances, convinced she was always going to be known as the girl who became a single teenage mom.
“Grief had me in a chokehold for many, many, many years of my life,” she said, adding, “When I was 17, I was a baby with a baby, doing everything by myself. So, for so many years, I was in this victim mentality.”
In April 2025, tragedy struck again when Mitchell received a phone call: her sister, a mother to five children, was found unresponsive, with fluid gathered in her lungs. Her children’s ages ranged from 11 months to 16 years old.
Mitchell said unbeknownst to the family, her sister had an enlarged heart.
“She never showed any signs of being sick,” Mitchell said. “She loved her life…she was a social butterfly.”
Grappling with the loss of her sister, Mitchell realized she had a choice: let grief take her down again, or do something different. Mitchell turned to her neighbor Terry, a woman of faith and longtime family friend, for some spiritual guidance. Terry recited a beautiful prayer over Mitchell, asking God for help.
Deeply moved by this exchange, Mitchell later made the decision to heal that young teenage version of herself and tie up “loose ends” from high school.
“That is what made me want to go back to school,” she said. “I felt like going back to school was going to help birth this woman that I know I am inside…I want to be the best version for myself – first and foremost for God, for my kids – I have a son and a daughter now – for my sister’s kids, and for me very last, because I’ve always been selfless.”
Mitchell Googled how to go back to school, and that is how she found BCSD’s Adult and Community Education program.
The journey begins
Registration and enrollment for Berkeley County Adult and Community Education runs throughout the year. When Mitchell reached out to the program, she was able to register for the GED Ready, which consists of practice tests designed to assist individuals in determining if they are ready to take the GED exams.
The GED test covers the core four subject areas – math, science, social studies and Reasoning Through Language Arts. When students pass all four areas, they earn their high school equivalency diploma.
Mitchell passed her first three exams with flying colors, but struggled with math. She credits Adult Education teachers Terri Edens and Brandi Vangorder, as well as the program’s assistant Mary Ann Yeadon, for all their help in being successful.
“They are angels – I love them so much,” Mitchell said.
In April, when Mitchell was scheduled to take the final test, there was an unfortunate change in her transportation situation, and she found herself without a car, and subsequently unable to get to the testing location.
“Here I am at the finishing line, and I’m not going to be able to get there,” Mitchell said.
She texted Vangorder – affectionately known as “Ms. V” – asking for prayers. Within 10 minutes, Mitchell received a call from Yeadon, who told her, “Your prayers have been answered – I’m going to come get you.” Yeadon further arranged from another Adult Education classmate to take Mitchell back home.
Mitchell said everybody was wearing inspirational shirts on this testing day; her own read “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The exam took hours. Immediately after the exam, Mitchell learned the good news: she passed.
After letting it soak in, Mitchell started shooting off texts to her loved ones to deliver the news, but the first person she told was her neighbor Terry, who responded with, “This just proves you can do whatever you put your mind to.”
Next steps
Mitchell now wants to continue her education by going to college. She is still deciding what she wants to do for a career. She is currently participating in appointments with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, which helps Adult Education graduates with the next steps in their career journey.
Regardless of whatever career path she decides, Mitchell remains committed to moving forward and being the best version of herself so that grief dose not get in the way of her being successful.
The experience has taught her to never let her circumstances hinder her, and she now passes that advice on to anyone considering going back to school.
“Just have faith,” she said. “Break out of that mentality of ‘I can’t do it.’ Don’t be afraid – just try.”
She added that the staff at BCSD’s Adult Education are very supportive of all their students.
“They want to see us win,” she said. “They push us to do our very best. We’re more than just students to them – we’re a family to them.”
