上图:博士. 瑞秋DeVaughan, Deputy Executive Director of Programs for the Mississippi Community College Board, was the keynote speaker for the June 23 High School Equivalency graduation ceremony at 海因兹社区学院.
More than 20 years ago Josephine 兰金 left high school without a diploma. But for the sake of her five sons and three daughters, she decided it was time to get that credential and pursue higher education.
“I’m really trying to set the standard to where they would see, “好吧, Mama waited until we were in high school and went and got her (diploma).’ I just want them to be better than I was. I don’t want them to make the same mistakes, said 兰金, who lives in 维克斯堡.
38岁时, she proudly donned a cap and gown for a ceremony to celebrate passing the tests to receive her High School Equivalency Diploma, a process that took her several years to complete.
兰金 was one of nearly 80 adults who participated in a High School Equivalency graduation ceremony at 海因兹社区学院 on June 23.
“2014年我参加了普通教育文凭考试. I got discouraged and I sat out a while,”她说。. “我没有动力. I would get discouraged easily. I went back and put my mind to it.”
她于2018年回归, passing the tests in 2020 just as the COVID-19 pandemic began, 推迟了她的婚礼.
She plans to take classes at 希德 in fall 2022 to study paralegal technology and criminal justice. “我不会就此打住. I’m going to get my doctorate,” she promised.
Jacob Cooley of Crystal Springs participating in a graduation ceremony June 23 at 海因兹社区学院. Cooley received his high school credential. He is with wife Taylor and daughter Jazlynn, 8.
At age 25, Jacob Cooley of Crystal Springs didn’t wait as long to get his high school credential. He credits the intervention of God for turning his life around as he sat in a jail cell for selling drugs.
“It was the Lord who really put it on my heart to come back and change my life. 那真的不是我. 我进过监狱又出过监狱. I really wasn’t doing nothing but going down a bad path. He sat me down in a jail cell, and I decided to turn my life around all because of the Lord. 他在我身上看到了一些东西, 他激发了我的潜能,库利说。, who now has his own construction business.
He credits the personal attention from 希德 instructors with his success. “If you were willing to put your all into it, they were going to put their all into it,他说.
Sherry Bellmon, 希德 Vice President for Instruction, Career & Technical Education, praised graduates for sticking with it.
“Opportunity – some people dream of success while others wake up, work hard and actually make it happen. 你做到了，”贝尔蒙说. “It is no accident that you are here today. It took hard work, perseverance, studying, sacrificing, studying, sacrificing and more studying. Most of all, passion for what you wanted to accomplish.”
印度总统. Stephen Vacik told the graduates he knows they didn’t have it easy. “We have lots of graduations and lots of celebrations but this one is especially poignant to me because I know, 对你们每个人来说, the sacrifices that you’ve had to make,他说.
主讲人Dr. 雷切尔米. DeVaughan, Deputy Executive Director of Programs for the Mississippi Community College Board, 向毕业生讲述她自己的故事. She was one of six children with a single parent mom and dropped out of high school. She decided to return to school at age 28 when she herself was a single mom working dead-end jobs and trying to put food on the table.
“I know how hard it is for students who continually face academic, 社会经济, emotional or behavioral challenges to believe that they could be successful, and maybe that was some of you,”她说。.
After getting her high school diploma, she enrolled at a Mississippi community college.
“我吓坏了。. I remember sitting in the desk thinking, ‘What am I doing here? 你不属于这里. You have no business furthering your education.’ But deep inside I had a dream that I wanted to be a teacher – go figure,” Dr. DeVaughan说. “That began a 17-year journey of going to school part-time, 抚养孩子, 全职的工作, being a part of life to finally finish my Ph.D.
She encouraged the graduates not to stop with high school but to enroll in college and continue.
“I challenge you to find your dream. 完成你的旅程. 我鼓励你继续. 这仅仅是个开始. 你拥有这个愿景. You own the path set before you,”她说。.