I commend Gregory Kane on his Sept. 21 column, “Brenda Barney’s happy ending,” which details Barney’s successful completion of her personal journey from high school dropout to college professor.

It’s an inspiring story: Deciding in middle age that she wanted more out of life than her employment as a corrections officer in the state prison system, Barney returned to school to complete her education. Her determination eventually brought her to Baltimore City Community College, where she not only found her footing as an adult learner, but also gained the confidence to earn an associate of arts degree from BCCC and then to pursue a bachelor’s degree. She did just that at Johns Hopkins University, a school she would never have considered within the realm of possibility had it not been for the urging of her mentor,  Baltimore City Community College English professor (and Hopkins alumna) Lynn Kerr.