I've Come a Long Way

I was a teen mom who became truant after 9th grade. I wanted to complete an alternative high school program for 9th grade while pregnant. My mom and counselor forced me back into mainstream high school and I didn’t want to go.

No one knew that I was planning to get my GED. I did it on my own with the help of a Volunteer program that paid me a stipend and arranged the testing. I was only 17 at the time and did not qualify to receive the diploma because I had never officially been withdrawn from High School. I didn’t know at the time what I was going to study but I knew that I needed an education to obtain better things for me and my child.

My dad withdrew me from HS and I was able to get my GED diploma and enroll in a 4 year college. I was accepted in the Engineering Program but college was a challenge because I lacked the discipline that you obtain by working through 4 years of high school. I also was a single mom of 2. Even though I had to withdraw for a few years and didn’t return to college until 3 years later, I was able to complete my degree in Engineering and the rest is history. I say this to say that with a high school equivalency or a GED diploma, you can still pursue higher education or any goal. A GED diploma does not make us less than nor less intelligent than someone who stays in high school. It’s just an alternative route for those of us who have needs that don’t fit the traditional route. I am completing my masters in engineering so that I can teach as well as looking at working as a teacher for GED prep and remedial courses.