Surmounting Difficulty and Achieving Success In the words of an anonymous quote, "The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it!" For Martha Wilson, a custodian at Cleveland Elementary School, this statement has proven to be a way of life. Ms. Wilson has worked with Johnston County Schools for nearly fifteen years in several different capacities. She has worked with Facility Services on the Grounds Crew, served as Head Custodian at Four Oaks Middle and Wilson's Mills Elementary schools, and has served as a custodian at South Johnston High and Cleveland Elementary schools. She has also served as a teacher assistant within the school system. On Monday, May 10, 2004, Ms. Wilson graduated from Campbell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a near perfect grade point average. However, the road to earning her degree has been very difficult. Ms. Wilson has worked full time as a custodian while attending classes full time. In addition, a few short months ago her home was burglarized and vandalized severely. Finally, Ms. Wilson has had some health issues during the last few months that have been challenging to say the least. As a matter of fact, it was questionable as to whether she would have to take a leave of absence during her last semester at Campbell. Nevertheless, through it all, Ms. Wilson ran the race, surmounted difficulty, and achieved success! Ann Williams, Assistant Superintendent of Facility Services, characterizes Ms. Wilson as "the epitome of the life long learner - a true hero among us who has mastered every assigned task, volunteered for countless others - and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that even dreams deferred do come true."
