With her newest triumph, Ebony Chappel is seeing her goals come true. Despite a fire and a mini-stroke while attending Clark Atlanta University, the 48-year-old grandmother has already graduated.
Chappel, who grew up poor, dropped out of high school after getting into trouble. She was 16 when raped, 17 when she graduated from high school, and 18 when she had her first kid.
She stated to Fox5, “Originally in Harlem, I went to Martin Luther King High School, and I got into some trouble, and I got kicked out, and I had to go to an alternative school.”
She had three more children and six grandchildren before completing her GED in 2019. She worked as a hairstylist and even styled Stevie Wonder’s hair. She started her own clothes manufacturing company and eventually applied to her favorite school, Clark Atlanta University.
Despite not having taken the SAT or ACT, the COVID-19 pandemic made it possible for her to enroll in school with her GED.
She enrolled in a fashion design class at Clark Atlanta University. She had a stroke as a result of her philanthropic activity making nose masks for other people.
She expressed a desire to return and teach at the school, citing its significant impact on her life.
Chappel said, “My next step is getting my masters in business and then after that I am going to get my masters in fashion and go to Paris.”