When Columbus Technical College student Tamarra Duckett of Waverly Hall was a baby, she kept getting fevers.  Her mom, who is in the healthcare industry, knew something was wrong and ultimately insisted on extensive medical tests.  The results were scary – a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis the day before Tamarra’s second birthday.  Doctors were forced to amputate both her feet and poor circulation led to five and a half of her little fingers decomposing.  Despite what many may view as physical limitations, Tamarra’s parents made sure their little girl met the same expectations set for her six siblings.  Things like playing outside, riding the main bus to school, enrolling in regular classes, and staying on the honor roll.
 
“My mom still asks me about my grades and gets on to me if I’m not studying as hard as I she thinks I should,” Duckett laughed.
 
Tamarra Duckett is among the 321 students who qualified in Fall of 2018 for graduation from Columbus Technical College; she will turn 24 the day after graduation - which will be held Thursday, January 24 at 7PM at the Columbus Civic Center.  

Duckett tried a more traditional college route as a psychology major “but I was not in my happy place,” she said.  “I vowed that when I went back to school it’d be for something I love and I couldn’t be happier now.”
 
Cosmetology instructor and program director Sherylene Edmonson is a big fan of Tamarra Duckett.
 
“I wish I had 100 students just like her,” Edmonson said. “She keeps everyone else motivated.  She’s so positive- even when she’s in pain.  We all look up to her; she’s a beautiful person – inside and out.”
 
Duckett earned her certification as a nail technician and is continuing her education in the esthetics program; she also plans on earning a credential in business management.  She has plans to one day become a Master Cosmetologist.
 
Also featured at Thursday’s graduation will be addresses from Columbus Technical College’s student of the year, Adult Education student of the year, and instructor of the year.