The 2017 EAGLE winner for Columbus Technical College, Natalie Miller of Columbus, is the picture of poise, grace, and gratitude. And when one hears her story, those attributes become even more amazing. This 35-year-old mother was in the grasp of severe drug addiction for eight years. Her addiction led her to horrible scenarios that included losing custody of her young daughter. At just four months clean, Natalie Miller enrolled in the Adult Education’s GED program at Columbus Technical College.

Today Natalie is a graduate of that program and is currently enrolled full time at the College in hopes of eventually entering the nursing field. She sees healthcare as the perfect opportunity to pay it forward.

“I want to make my way through college starting with my associate’s degree in the Health Science program,” Miller wrote in her EAGLE application. “I would love to reach out to women who have been on drugs or are still currently on drugs and don’t know which direction they are going in. I would like to give them hope, like I was given hope.”

Miller is adamant about continuing to not only build herself up to reach her personal goals but also to build a healthy relationship with her now 16-year-old daughter.

This March, Natalie Miller will compete with EAGLE winners from sister colleges in the Technical College System of Georgia. Miller says if she is chosen as the state winner, she would travel Georgia touting the importance of adult education especially reaching out to those “who may feel that they have no future because of their past.”