DALLAS TOWNSHIP -- A student at a university in Luzerne County has been chosen to tell her inspiring story to members of Congress.
Asia Thompson of New Jersey is a single mother of two and also a student at Misericordia University. Now, she's fighting to save the safety nets that helped her get to where she is.
Thompson, 22, is in her junior year as a creative writing major at Misericordia University near Dallas. But it's her creative cooking skills that help her most while living on campus at the Ramussen House, a rent-free apartment for single mothers funded by a university endowment.
When we were there, she was picking kale from a garden outside the home to cook homemade kale chips.
"I'm a full-time student and a full-time mom, so it would be really difficult to have to afford a lot of the foods that I would need to buy for my two children," Thompson said.
When she isn't picking vegetables in the garden, she's usually buying food with food stamps. She says she'd otherwise struggle to feed herself and her two young children who live with her at Rasmussen House.
"It can be overwhelming!" she said.
This week, Thompson will travel from her home at Misericordia University to Washington, D.C. to talk to lawmakers and tell her story. She'll explain how federally funded programs, like food stamps, are helping her get her college degree.
"It's really helpful to know these types of programs are offered and they are here to help," Thompson added.
Katherine Pohlidal is the director of Misericordia's Women and Children's program. She says a nonprofit heard Thompson's story and invited her to speak to lawmakers in Washington on Thursday about the importance of funding programs such as food stamps.
"Her story is very compelling," Pohlidal said. "Our mission really is to break through the lines of poverty."
Thompson hopes to do just that by working hard in school now, so she can get a good-paying job after graduation.