NATCHEZ — Shalisha Proby and Lekeshia Harris had nearly given up on receiving a high school diploma before a phone call helped them realize that was likely a step in the wrong direction.

The two former Natchez High School students each had run into personal struggles during their high school careers and had decided to opt out of receiving their diplomas.

“I had tried going through the regular classes for a long time, but it just wasn’t working,” Proby said. “I had my new baby to take care of and told my grandmother that if I didn’t pass the last year, I would quit, and that’s what happened.”

Proby considered getting her GED high school equivalency certification, but couldn’t find a program that fit with her schedule.

Harris struggled with the state standardized tests that were required for her to graduate from NHS, and also considered getting her GED.

“I told my mom I wanted to get my GED, but she told me just to give it another try and to go one more year,” Harris said. “She kept telling me that a GED wasn’t the same and told me not to give up, but that’s what I wanted to try to do.”

The students received a call from guidance counselors at NHS last school year saying that a program was available that could get them a high school diploma while taking classes at their own pace.

Proby and Harris signed up for and were accepted into the Ombudsman program operated at the Central Alternative School in Natchez.

The Chicago-based company partners with 115 school districts in 19 states across the country and specializes in alternative education, credit recovery and dropout prevention and recovery programs.

The program uses a blended learning model, which combines one-on-one classroom instruction with online content and instruction.

Harris said she responded well to the program’s teaching style that allowed her to learn and excel at her own pace.

“I’m a slow learner, and I would rather take smaller steps to get up to the same level instead of going fast through something and not really learning it,” Harris said. “It helped put me back on the right track.”

Harris and Proby were able to complete the necessary requirements to graduate earlier this month with an Ombudsman degree.

The company is accredited by AdvancED, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that accredits primary and secondary schools through the U.S. and internationally. The organization was formerly known as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is the same company that accredits the NASD.

That means an Ombudsman diploma carries the same weight as an NASD diploma or any others from the State of Mississippi.

Harris said she’s enrolled at Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus where she plans to take classes for a year before transferring to Alcorn State University to study criminal justice.

Harris suggested other students who might be in a similar position she was in continue trying their hardest to graduate from high school.

“All I ask the graduating class of 2015 to do is get their diploma,” Harris said. “If you really want to be somebody someday you need that, and you don’t want to look back later and say that you had the chance but didn’t take it.”

Proby said she’s also enrolled at Co-Lin and will begin studying to become a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Proby said she was glad she made the decision to return to school and was able to walk away with a high school diploma.

“If I were going to give advice to anyone in my shoes I would tell them not to give up on getting their high school diploma because you will eventually regret it like I almost did,” Proby said. “You just can’t survive right now without having at least a high school diploma.”