Albany State student’s prayers are answered

ALBANY — Miracles sometimes happen in unexpected places.

With balloons from her grandmother’s birthday party, Mykehia Curry of Macon offered up a prayer as a last measure of hope that she would achieve her dream of being the first person in her family to attend college. Now a student at Albany State University, her story received national attention for its unique and spiritual nature.

“Albany State has always been my dream college,” Curry said. “Ever since my freshman year of high school, I always looked into HBCUs, and this is the one that stood out the most to me. I applied late (during) my junior year because that’s when I took my PSAT, and I applied again after I took my SAT and I got accepted.”

Curry said that even as she applied to ASU, she knew she didn’t have the money needed to attend. After looking into scholarship opportunities, she said that she felt like she wouldn’t qualify for them. She wasn’t going to let money get in here way, though. With only a few days left before the admissions deadline, Curry made a decision that made her dream possible.

“It was my last resort; might as well say it was about four or five days before it was time for me to come down here, and I didn’t basically have the smallest idea,” Curry said. “I knew I needed other stuff just to make ends meet while I was down here.

“That’s when I had some leftover balloons from my grandmama’s birthday party, and I wrote a letter to God saying ‘God, this is me again,’ because I had been praying. ‘God, this is me again. Please help me get the things I need to leave Wednesday.’ And I put my name and my number.”

After releasing the balloons, Curry said she didn’t believe anything would come of it.

“I basically put my phone number on there just in case someone would find it and let me know that they found it, or I thought maybe somebody was just going to pick it up and throw it away after I did it,” Curry said. “I didn’t think nothing else of it until I got a phone call about it.”

Jerome Jones, a Baptist minister, found Curry’s letter. He contacted her the next day and told her she would get the help she needed. She said that Jones bought her a mini-fridge and a comforter. She said she talks to Jones every day and recently attended a service at his church.

Curry’s message to God received national attention when her story was shared on CNN and Huffington Post. She said that she wants people to know that “if you ever have any problems or anything that you think can’t be done, just keep faith because anything is possible.”

Although she is currently taking core classes, Curry said she is studying to be a nurse. She said the reason she wanted to go to college was for her 7-year-old brother, Malik Curry.

“The reason for me coming to college is to better myself so I can better him so he can have a better life than I did,” Curry said. “I know I struggled a lot financially. Also, when I was smaller, I didn’t have all of the newer clothes and shoes that everybody else had, and I don’t want him to go through that.”

Curry’s financial situation has been tough, she said. Her mother, Katina Mitchell, is disabled from a stroke she had a few years ago, and Curry’s grandmother supports the family. She said that the family was worried about her going to college because of finances, but thanks to a bundle of balloons, a final wish and a pretty amazing Baptist minister, Curry is doing well at ASU and adjusting to campus life away from home.

Gypsy Crow