Wednesday's Woman: Djuana Ferguson

Even before Djuana Ferguson founded Integrity Christian Academy she was focused on education.

Graduating from an Atlanta-area high school and going on to college, this mother of four always believed the mantra: be the best you can be.

So, she tried doing that. She received a bachelor's degree of science in human services, and then went on to spend 13 years in the medical field working in a radiation and oncology office. After that, she thought she needed to do something else.

"As a parent (I) saw that the standards were not being met," she said about her children's schools. She has four children, and one grandchild.

So in 2006, she founded the . It was first in Lilburn, and then in Loganville, and now, it seems, the faith-based center will have its new home in Snellville. That's where Ferguson and her husband have lived for the past 13 years.

Ferguson, 46, says she "always had a desire to help others, particularly children."

So, now that she is at the helm of a school seems fitting. She has some 100 students and about 16 staff at the school. She considers herself a life-time educator. 

Her friends also would say she "that I am very loving and energetic, loves to laugh and compassionate for others." It is her mother, Ferguson said, who inspires her to be who she is and to do what she does.

"She was always a strong individual that fought with everything in her to achieve the family and individual goals,"' Ferguson said. "She passed away in 2007, so I know that I have to start everyday knowing that I am doing what she loved to do. 

When Ferguson isn't thinking into the wee hours of the morning about ways that she can help her students, she has a few other pleasures. Her hobbies include: reading, traveling and entertaining family.

She and her husband also are former foster care parents, and now the two host international exchange students. This year, their exchange daughter is a 16-year-old from Thailand. In the past, the family has welcomes students from Pakistan and Ecuador.

She's even found time to be an assistant cheerleading coach.

When asked if she's accomplished everything she wants to do, Ferguson says there is still more to be done.

"I truly feel that God had blessed me to fulfill the dreams that I had for my life," she said. "Although my task is not over, I am definetly headed in the right direction."