Local woman overcomes tragedy to graduate

It’s graduation season. One Rigby woman overcame a huge obstacle to be able to walk across the stage.

Valerie Goodwin decided to go back to school so she enrolled at Stevens-Henager College.

“It was a journey of rediscovery and reflection. And it was a mixture of things and I was glad that I took it finally,” says Goodwin.

Things were going well until tragedy. Goodwin got into a car accident in June 2016.

“I missed a stop sign and didn’t realize that it was there and had clipped another car and my van shot up in the air. And when it came back it rolled.”

Leaving Goodwin in a coma for over a week with broken ribs and other injuries. But she didn’t stop fighting, surrounded by love and support she pushed through.

“At first it was about me. But then when all this happened, it was the people. It was them, they did so much for me and my family. I come from a family of champions so there was no other option but to continue to try. Don’t give up.”

On Friday, Valerie walked across the stage earning a Bachelor degree. Now she wants to encourage others to keep going.

“I’m just going to pay it forward from here on out. So wherever I land I’m just going to spread the love that I can and the knowledge and abilities that I have.”

Valerie earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources.