When Heather Watkins graduated from Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, it wasn’t just a proud moment in her educational career, it was proof that despite spina bifida and multiple sclerosis that she could still achieve her dreams.

Both conditions made attending school a daily challenge. “Some people thought I should take special classes,” Watkins said, “but my mom helped me realize I was just like everyone else.”

Watkins has undergone 13 surgeries. No matter how challenging things got, she never let it distract her from her goal of becoming a science teacher. In her sophomore year she had brain surgery. Two days later she was back in school.

“I didn’t want my surgeries to stop me from being who I wanted to be,” she said.

And she didn’t. In 2015 she accepted her diploma surrounded by cheering classmates who rose to their feet as she crossed the stage. “It felt great,” she said. “I felt like I made something of myself.”

Watkins’ mother shared her graduation day story in the lottery’s Proud Moments in Education contest, becoming one of ten people to win $20,000. The Watkins plan to use the $20,000 to make their house and vehicle more accessible to Watkins’ wheelchair.

Her journey in education is not over. She just finished her second semester at Durham Technical Community College and hopes to transfer to Meredith College to earn her teaching degree.

“I’ve been looking up to my teachers and how hard they work,” she said. “I want to inspire people to learn as well.”

In the N.C. Proud Moments contest, the Education Lottery asked North Carolinians to share their proudest moments in education and how they would use $20,000 to create more proud moments. The lottery received hundreds of moving responses. A panel of judges chose 10 winners from the 100 entries that got the most votes. The contest helped mark the lottery’s 10th anniversary as it raises money to support education programs in North Carolina. Since 2006, the lottery has raised more than $4.6 billion. The winners’ submissions and a video featuring their stories are posted on the N.C. Proud Moments website, located at http://www.ncproudmoments.com/.