Woman reveals how she overcame addiction to hard drugs to end up graduating from college

Mother of three who was jailed three times on course for career as attorney

(Facebook/Virginia “Ginny” Burton)

A Washington university graduate has gone viral after she admitted to a history of drug addiction and shared her inspiring story on Facebook.

Virginia “Ginny” Burton, 48, said she was going to “die on a park bench with a needle in my arm or by gunshot to the head,” in the years before she attended university.

“I would’ve never in a million years thought my life would look the way it does today,” the University of Washington graduate wrote in a Facebook post on 21 May, sharing a before and after image.

“Stop selling yourself short. You don't know what tomorrow might bring so you might consider starting today.”

She told TV station WBNS that she was one of seven children at home, and was pressured into trying marijuana by her mother and family at the age of six.

By the age of 15 she was “a full-blown drug addict”, and went on to serve three jail sentences, according to KIRO7.

The mother of three started her degree in 2017 after two decades of drug addiction and recovery, the University of Washington wrote in an announcement of a scholarship award last year.

“Having experienced addiction, incarceration and seeing her family’s experiences with the criminal justice system, she recognised education was the key to continuing her work more intentionally,” the university added.

After the story caught attention on Facebook, Virginia wrote in a follow up post that she wanted “people to know that there is hope” for anybody suffering from addiction.

“You can stop using, lose the desire, and find a new way to live,” she wrote. “There are so many of us out here willing to help.”

The graduate went on to thank everyone for supporting her throughout her life, and of the recent interest in her story. She added: “On my own, I wouldn't have stopped”.

According to KIRO7, Virginia intends on studying for a masters and entering a career as an attorney, while her sister is currently suffering from active addiction.

Her adult son, 28, also served a prison sentence for a crime he committed as a minor.