Continuing Ed Graduation Celebrates Successes
Record Number: 9674 Displayed from: Mar 4 2013 12:00AM, until: Mar 14 2013 12:00AMThe Fort Wayne Community Schools Adult and Continuing Education Department will celebrate the success of 416 graduates at its Commencement Ceremony at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, at North Side High School.
Prior to the Commencement Ceremony the Literacy Alliance will host a reception from 6-6:45 p.m. at North Side. Seven graduating students will share their stories of how they came to the Adult and Continuing Education program at Anthis Career Center or a satellite site and reached their goal of earning a GED or high school diploma between January and December 2012. The program serves adult students of all ages, many of whom have endured educational and personal struggles on their road to graduation. This year’s speakers are:
Courtney Conley
Since fourth grade Courtney Conley has been in many schools –
an average of two a year. Originally from Cedar Falls, Iowa, she moved to Fort Wayne with a friend 16 years
ago. At 22, her son Drake was born, and she devoted her time to raising him. By the time he reached third
grade he was doing so well that he didn’t need his mom as much. Courtney decided to return to earn her
GED. She began in October 2011 and finished in March 2012 when she passed the GED test. Wanting to go to
college and have a career motivated her to get the GED. Now, Courtney is studying criminal justice at Ivy
Tech.
Chavon Harris
When she was 10 years old, Chavon Harris moved to Fort Wayne from
Minneapolis with her mom. She attended Forest Park Elementary School, Lakeside Middle School and South Side
High School. The obstacle to getting a diploma was the math ISTEP+ exam. Her senior year alone she tried four
times to pass it. Without a diploma, Chavon was able to enroll at Ivy Tech but soon dropped out when she
realized she wasn’t ready for college. She found a job selling Frontier Cable subscriptions, but after a
year and a half, her job was eliminated. Despite this solid track record, no one would hire her. She decided
to get her GED, which she received in December 2012. Chavon is now working and plans to return to Ivy Tech in
May where she will take general education courses. Her desire is to transfer to IPFW’s School of Fine
Arts to study photography.
Mang Kim Lian
Mang Kim Lian came to the United States in November 2009 and eventually
moved to Fort Wayne to be with family. In January 2012, he began taking classes at Anthis Career Center where
his biggest challenge was listening to and speaking English. He liked the classes and quickly became
comfortable with support and help from his classmates. His teachers were patient and taught at the pace he
needed to progress. By his second year at Anthis, his English was much improved. With his diploma, Kim now
attends Ivy Tech full time with intentions of transferring to IPFW after two years where he plans to study
either chemistry or biology with pre-med as a goal.
Hayley Morning
Hayley Morning’s routine as a home-school student required
getting up at a certain time everyday and getting the day’s assignments done. With her mother as her
teacher, Hayley did well. Class was dismissed once the day’s assignments were done, which was usually
before traditional schools let out for the day. Her favorite subjects were history and science, with math
being her toughest subject. While Hayley and her mom had routine, it was interrupted when her mother developed
serious health issues. Hayley took care of her until her death in June 2011 – a year before Hayley
earned her GED. Hayley is now pursuing a nursing career with the ultimate goal of becoming a doctor. She
begins classes at IPFW in the fall. Though her mom can’t be at graduation, Hayley will be joined by her
father, grandmother, aunts, uncle and her fiancé, Ian, whom she will marry in October.
Wedad Omar
War prompted Wedad Omar to move from Darfur to the United States with her
four brothers and two sisters. Her dad was already in Fort Wayne, and they came to live with him in January
2007. Wedad had never experienced such cold and snow, and the climate change was a shock. Because of the war,
she was not able to finish high school in her native country where Arabic was the primary language. Instead,
she enrolled at Anthis Career Center in the English as a Second Language program. She improved her English
while taking high school classes. In time, she earned all the credits she needed and passed the required state
tests. With her high school diploma, she now attends Ivy Tech with plans to transfer to IPFW. Her interest is
in human services, and she ultimately wants a career where she can help people, especially people who come out
of war. Wedad has worked at the YMCA and likes to volunteer with community organizations, including the Darfur
Women’s Network and Burmese Advocacy Center. She has even grown to appreciate the winter weather and
says the snow is beautiful now.
Andrea Robinett
Butler native Andrea Robinett moved to Fort Waynew ith her dad when
she was 18. She didn’t finish high school because of family issues and decided instead to get a job. She
worked in a pizzeria then in a factory. Andrea always wanted to finish school and go to college. She and her
husband have two children, Kaden and Kaylynn. Andrea decided that with her children in school it was time to
get her GED. From the first day at Anthis Career Center, she saw how the teachers were passionate about the
students getting their education. Though a little intimidated when she sat for the GED test in July 2012, she
felt confident she could do it because her teachers had helped her prepare. Andrea is now enrolled in a
nursing program and would eventually like to earn a master’s degree. When she told her college
communications instructor about speaking at GED graduation, her instructor helped her to feel less nervous by
assigning speeches to deliver in class.
Chad Smith
Math was always hard for Chad Smith. To learn it required repetition and
more repetition. When he got to Algebra his senior year in high school,Chaddecided to save himself
embarrassment and withdrew from school. He worked in a restaurant and, though he had difficulty with
math,Chadobserved and modeled what the managers did and worked his way up to general manager. With most of his
employees being high school students, he believed one of his responsibilities was guiding and encouraging his
staff to graduate. It seemed a bit hollow since he didn’t have his diploma so he decided to return for
his GED. In January 2012, he started classes at The Literacy Alliance’sNew Haven Learning Center. After
his years in management, the math seemed easier. He had learned the purpose and reasons for the math. The
algebra and geometry were still challenging, and he devoted a lot of time studying them at home as well as in
class. The work paid off.Chadis now a business major at Ivy Tech, and he plans to eventually open a restaurant
of his own.
© Fort Wayne Community Schools | May 19th 2013