There is a very special segment of our society that has been lost in the shuffle, hidden behind the curtain, and never mentioned in the past because the shame has always been too great. But anytime a girl goes away to college and gets pregnant rather than a degree, usually a brilliant mind is cast to the wayside.

More often than not, and for whatever reason, the father doesn’t stick around very long and so our society with all its morals and its judgments turns a blind eye and that girl, usually without any money and her closest family members quick to join in her ridicule, is forced to abandon a dream for a pail of diapers.

So now coming before us is a girl at prestigious Vanderbilt University, a girl who has probably fallen prey to just one stupid mistake in her whole life, yet who is willing to stand before even the most pious among us in an effort to sweep the path for girls across our nation who may be forced to walk in her same footsteps.

When Mary Cady Ford will graduate with a master's degree from Vanderbilt in just over a month, she’ll have a diploma in one hand and a three-year-old in the other. Unlike some of her classmates who will then join the chase for the dollar, Mary Cady will hopefully start a foundation that will enable other bright young women to get their college degrees and also make a difference.

The 25-year-old is gorgeous so she’ll evermore put a pretty face on her effort, but better, better by far, is this girl’s burning burden to establish what she is calling “Finished Up.” She’s serious. With the help of a female lawyer, she’s just become incorporated and, with the help of another, has a 501c3 tax-deductable status in place for donations to her non-profit organization.

Her deal is real simple. “The inaugural chapter of Finished Up at Vanderbilt University exists to provide women who decide to become single mothers during their careers at Vanderbilt with the resources and support that they need to stay in school and finish their degrees,” she said recently.

“Finished Up will provide avenues for financial assistance, psychological counseling, and medical care to these women as well as help with housing, childcare, and job placement,” the slender girl added, explaining she is taking her free time right now to give others just like her some free time for themselves in the future.

That, in itself, is amazing. In addition to her fulltime graduate-school studies, the young Mrs. Ford is a mother to a scampering daughter, teaches aerobics before dawn at a nearby YMCA every morning, sits on several student leadership committees, actively pursues Bible study, and greets every day with a zeal other students, far less burdened, wish desperately they had.

“When I became pregnant as a junior at Vanderbilt, I quickly discovered that I was an anomaly. In a day, I went from a typical sorority girl to an expectant mother, and this sudden change in my situation made for a difficult road ahead,” she said in a recent interview with “CoolPeopleCare.com”

“I was unprepared for the sleepless nights, the self-doubt, the struggle to discover who I was and wanted to be, and the reality of full-time, 24/7 parenting.

“What made my choice to become a single mother more unique was my desire to finish school at Vanderbilt. After all, I worked just as hard as the other students in my class to get in, and I was certainly willing to work just as hard to finish up,” she laughed, giving secret to her foundation’s unusual name, “Finished Up.”

Her journey, however, is just beginning. Armed with her tax-deductible status, her charter and her youthful board of directors, she figures she must raise $36,000 almost immediately to stay afloat throughout the summer and fall as she calls on foundations, churches, and anyone who has a heart for her cause. Most foundations, for instance, don’t give grants until late fall.

That she is starting her plea at a private university makes it all the worse. They are in the fund-raising business too. But Mary Cady’s eyes twinkle when she claims, “You see, the challenge is better!” Trust me, young Mrs. Ford’s laughter is very real.

Please allow me to share her address in hopes that some who read this will not only help her raise her initial stake, but may also be inspired by her pluck and courage to contact others, maybe even some others who also once got pregnant in college, and would have given the world in order to “finish up.”

Contributions should be made to “The Finished Up Foundation” and should be sent to Mary Cady Ford, c/o Cuninggim Women’s Center, Vanderbilt University, Box 351513 -- Station B, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235.

There is one other thing you must know. I didn’t hear about the “Finished Up Foundation” until this past Sunday morning when I went to play with my daughter and granddaughter who were in town for the day.

I was cool with the whole thing, too, until I drove away and had made it about two blocks. You see, Mary Cady Ford is my daughter and, while I am so immensely proud of her, I didn’t want to her to see me cry as I thanked God above for blessing me with not just a dazzling daughter but with tiny Caroline as well.

You see, our society with all its proper values and pious stands, still frowns a bit on men who cry in public so unashamedly and far be it for me to play outside the lines, much unlike the bravest girl I know.

royexum@aol.com