Some had great jobs but never graduated from high school. Then their company and their jobs moved to another country. Some married young, dropping out of high school. Then they had children and after their husbands left, had to get a job. Their stories are familiar but they are rewriting them.
Two-hundred twenty-six individuals will achieve what many of them never thought possible on Sunday at 2 p.m. They will walk the aisle at Patten Chapel in graduation ceremonies at UTC. All have successfully passed their GED, which seemed all too distant the day they dropped out of high school.
Many will be entering the workforce, beginning new jobs. Others will go on to post-secondary education seeking degrees and later finding satisfying professions and careers.
“We are the ‘launching pad’ to their futures,” said Lori Hairrell, executive director of Re:Start The Center for Adult Education. “It’s amazing the difference an education can make in the lives of those who are determined to change them.”
Over a 45-year career the earnings difference between a high school dropout and someone with a high school diploma can amount to more than $700,000.
“I never thought about finishing high school until I lost my job and couldn’t find another one,” said Edwin Stout, student in the Dislocated Worker’s Program. “The Re:Start faculty prepared me to take and pass the GED.”
UTC Chancellor Roger G. Brown will deliver the congratulatory address. The first to attend college in his family, Dr. Brown has a particular appreciation for the importance of education. The Master of Ceremonies will be Jed Mescon, a co-anchor at Channel 3 Eyewitness News Today and co-host of 3 Plus You. Zachary Cooper, publisher of The Pulse, will present the “Student of the Year Award.” Mr. Cooper is also a GED graduate.
Re:Start- The Center for Adult Education believes educated adults have greater economic opportunity, are less vulnerable to those who would take advantage, are less likely to live in poverty, make more productive citizens and better parents, making Chattanooga a better community. Source: Monty Wyne, chattanoogan.com