Published: September 28, 2008 12:00 am            

30 years of giving people Options

Eighteen years ago, Gina Baker-Powell was a high school graduate looking forward to life ahead. She had just landed a full-time job and was settling into a routine.

One day, that all changed. The 19-year-old single woman learned she was pregnant.

Baker-Powell said she lost her job at a factory because pregnant women weren't allowed to work on the floor.

"I was jobless. I lived with my mom," she said.

Her mother's friend told her about Moore Norman Technology Center's Options program which helps unwed pregnant women, single mothers or fathers and displaced homemakers who need career skills, education and counseling.

"They pretty much changed my entire life," she said.

MNTC's Options program will celebrate its 30th anniversary at a reception Tuesday at the Franklin Road campus.

Baker-Powell said she plans to attend Tuesday's reception and celebrate a program that helped her turn her life around.

"They were full of encouragement and ideas," she said.

Baker-Powell said life wasn't easy as an unwed mother with an infant. There was no money for a car, and she wondered how she would get an education and provide for her child.

"At Moore Norman Technology Center, they provided transportation," she said.

The mother said she didn't have to worry about finding a ride to school or taking her child to day care, and the program allowed Options students to purchase clothes with credits from the DECA store.

"They knew every need you were going to be facing without a job," she said.

"I was able to get my training without my car. I remember buying my first car and being very grateful."

Baker-Powell said teachers and counselors gave her hope that she could one day become independent and hold down a well-paying job.

"The professional atmosphere from the faculty, that was something," she said.

Baker-Powell can recall taking resume writing classes, learning interview etiquette and even participating in state competitions. She gained knowledge and confidence.

"I knew I could do it," she said.

Baker-Powell not only gained a computerized applied accounting degree from MNTC, but friends as well.

"I've got lifelong friends I met there," she said. "That's where my heart is. They're amazing people."

For the past four years, Baker-Powell has worked as a staff assistant at the University of Oklahoma College of Education. But she volunteers once a week at the Center for Children and Families and cares for children as their parents try to make something of their lives.

"I'm giving back and helping," she said. "I love it. I like that I get to pay it back and help them as parents going through struggles and trials."

As a current Options student, Mary Ann Cowan, 60, understands what it's like to be back in class. Cowan, a widow, said she decided to enroll at MNTC after she was laid off from her employer because of enforced labor reduction.

A student in the legal office program, Cowan said her goal is to become an accredited legal secretary. She hopes to graduate in January or February from MNTC.

She said a MNTC counselor told her about Options as she enrolled for classes last winter.

"The program has helped me stay in school," Cowan said. "I've really enjoyed being part of the program. It has given me a chance to become more involved."

Options coordinator Cara Ditto said the program was known as the Center for Displaced Homemakers when it opened Aug. 1, 1978. Over the years, the name has changed.

"We have the same purpose," Ditto said. "That has never changed."

Ditto explained how the program works. Once a client contacts MNTC, either Ditto or an Options counselor meets with the client to assess needs. The client may be looking for schooling or employment.

"Options services are free of charge," she said.

If a client chooses to attend training at MNTC, he or she must pay tuition, but scholarships are available. An Options support group meets weekly.

Ditto said at one time between 38 and 40 technology centers in Oklahoma offered students a program designed similar to Options. Now Options is one of two CareerTech programs left in the state for unwed pregnant women, single mothers or fathers and displaced homemakers. Tulsa Technology Center offers a similar program.

Moore Norman Technology Center superintendent John Hunter said Options' funding is derived from local sources.

"We carry the Options program," Hunter said. "We see the benefits to the students and the community."

He said until 1999, the program received federal funding.

"We budget for it in our general fund," he said. The account covers Ditto's salary and Options services.

Even though other schools have decided to close their displaced homemaker programs, MNTC made the decision to keep the program because costs are manageable and the community support is there, Hunter said.

MNTC Superintendent Emeritus Frank Coulter said the Displaced Homemakers Assistance Act was passed by the Federal Government in 1977.

"Moore Norman Tech Center was one of first post-secondary institutions to initiate a Displaced Homemakers Program (Options), not only in the state of Oklahoma but also in the nation," Coulter said. "Since 1978 the program has assisted thousands of Oklahomans who find that because of a death or disability to the major wage earner in the family, divorce or a single parent that lacks occupational skills to compete in the employment world."

MNTC board member Doris Wedge said in three decades Options has been able to help hundreds of women and men reach a level of independence not only vocationally but emotionally.

"So many of the clients had history that was preventive of being successful in the job market," Wedge said.

She said the program was able to look at the whole person and guide them towards a path to success.

"Options helps people at the lowest point in their lives and gives them a ladder to climb towards goals with counseling and educational support," Wedge said.

Ann Rhea's mother, Sunshine Adkins, directed the displaced homemakers' program from 1981-1986.

"It was one of those programs that mother was proud to be a part of to help people who were so desperate," Rhea said. "This was not for divorced women as so much as those who lost their husbands to death."

Rhea said these women lacked job skills, but had families that depended on them as caretakers.

"It was a program that was very important to them," she said.

Rhea said Adkins had a personality to connect with people and be sincere.

"They knew she cared about them," she said.

Adkins died about 17 years ago.

As a member of Business and Professional Women, Rhea continues to support a program that held a close spot in her mother's heart. The organization collects money every year to fund Options scholarships.

"It's a privilege and I know it works," Rhea said. "When you give people confidence to go out and make it on their own, it's a good thing."

Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.