Regional adult, continuing education grads rejoice
New London - This month, Yolonda Booth and her oldest son Isaiah Brown will have both earned their high school diplomas.
Booth, 34, dropped out of high school 18 years ago but received her GED and a scholarship on Friday night at the New London Adult & Continuing Education graduation.
"Everyone is walking around the house with a smile on their face," she said. Isaiah Brown, 18, is graduating this month from New London High School, and Taki Abson, 13, is graduating from Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School.
Booth started the journey to her GED completion when she took her first GED test in 2006. As she addressed the 165 other New London Adult Education graduates Friday night, she said it has been "a long, hard, frustrating road."
She passed all four portions of the test except for math, so she took it a second time but failed again. She took the exam a third and final time in March and received a passing score.
"I almost fainted when I read the letter. Of course I cried, but this time it was tears of happiness," she said. "All I saw was 'congratulations' and I stopped reading. I know what a failing letter looks like."
The city's adult education program is regional and includes the Lyme-Old Lyme, Montville, Waterford and New London school districts. Fifteen graduates on Friday evening earned their diploma from the Montville Adult Education program.
"I know that for some of you, this journey has not been without challenges and sacrifices," Maria A. Pukas, director of the adult education program, told the students. "You've had to juggle families, multiple jobs, and a number of you are continuing on to higher education, some are joining the workforce, some of you are joining the military. Today we honor your accomplishments, your perseverance and your resilience. It is never too late to achieve your goals and your dreams. Remember that education is the key to your success."
Graduate Rose Santos, 31, said she chose "making money over education but always had the intention of going back to school."
Then she had her daughters Genesis, 9, and Gianni, 4.
"The money I was making was good enough for me, but certainly not good enough for my family," Santos said.
She started the adult education program in September and in January started taking classes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to earn her certified nursing assistant license. She is now working as a nursing assistant and plans to attend Three Rivers Community College in the fall.
"I had to get my diploma. A regular job without a diploma isn't going to cut it," she said.
j.hanckel@theday.com
New London Adult Education graduates
High school diploma graduatesCrystal Amanda Alicea, Cecilia Iris Beauchamps, Shanice C. Bernard, Brittany Michelle Boulanger, Cynthia Lynn Caisse, Jennifer Joy Coco, Catherine M. Connors, Anthony M. Corporan, Tahiri Marie Cortes, Martrez Christian Davis, Chelsea P. Denton, Amy Alexis Doran, Jason Allen Finnigan, Malina L. Fisher, Alexus Gauthier, Pauline W. George, Timalisha M. Gomez, India S. Grayer, Mylon Symoné Green, James F. Guerin, Shanna K. Hanson, Adam Steven Brandon Hill, Jessica Brooke Kolashuk, Ishaly López, Jennifer Lopez, Susana Lora, Magalie Louissaint, Alex Martinez, Christopher James McManus, Essence Miliner, Holiner Miliner, Shayla J. Negron, Bethania Nova, Jeziel Nova, Katrina S. Parzych, Vivian Perez, Seidy Yajaira Quijano, Penny Marie Richardson, Gabriella Grace Rodriguez, Melissa S. Rollins, Jesus Alberto Rosario, Melissa M. Roy, Rose M. Santos, Carlos Sotomayor, Martine Fabiolah St. Hilaire, Shamea Nicole Stone, Felicia Marlise Strong, Emily D. Strother, Alyssa Thompson, Jessica A. Trahan, Qunita Monique Tyler, Brandon E. Wadecki, Stephanie L. Walden, Lei Washington, Devonte D. West.
New London GED graduatesLinette Almonte, Steven Asprelli, Yolonda Booth, Josue Cabrera, Nicholas Callis, Joseph Carter, Ingrid Cividanes, Diana Cortes, Terrence Cowart, John Crane, Jeffery Cuff, Summer Danh, Paul DeCosta, Ashley Denison, Joseph Doto, Alec Dougan, Christian Fajardo, Angel Feathers, Tyler Mansfield Fisher, Matthew Fitch, Chanse Flores, John Garcia, Courtney Gardner, Justin Guntner, William Hardin, Joseph Hilbert, Darius Horton, James Hubbard, Jordyn Johnson, Christina Jones, Jayde Jones, Devon Karol, Chelsea Kinville, Michael Landi, Dan Laryea, Wilbert Latorre, Ryan Laukshtein, Fortuna Lebron, Amanda LeClair, Christina Lewis, Felicia Linicus, Pamela Longo, Timothy Longo, Mark Looknanan, Jeremy Lozada, Vibaldy Luna, Robert Machol, Kevin Makara, Elizabeth Marchany, Luis Marrero, Nathanael Marte, Melissa Maynard, Laura Maynard, Joshua McDade, David McLaughlin, Alexandria Millett, Brian Miner, Deborah Molina, Kathleen Morin, Vadim Mostavlyuk, Kayla Murray, Michael Musngi, Jr., Ross Nee, Alex Nieves, Minerva Ortiz, Janelle Ouellette, Shannon Ozkan, Alexander Pacheco, Veronica Prada, Matthew Randeau, Joshua Remillard, Ninalatisha Rosa, Leonardo Rosado, Rick Ruiz, Crystal Said, Samantha Salls, Dakpa Samdup, Jeffrey Savoy, Webster Scott, Justin Seguin, Sergio Sereno, Patricia Smith, Scott Stavens, Miriam Stepanian, Robyn Sullivan, Ryan Sutherland, Ashley Tackling, Joseph Tewksbury, Michaela Trapp, Evan Trask, Louis Trehy, Melissa Tucker, Max Urso, Antonio Valero, Jr., Ginette Veillard
Montville Adult Education Program GED graduatesDanielle Marie Chaude, Sara Elizabeth Chaude, Rui Bin Chen, Amber Lynn Deskus, Carly McNamara Forbes, Alfred Ernest Greene IV, Kayla Danielle Kotfer, Janiel Marie LaRochelle, Jessica Danielle McCombs, Zachery James McDonald, Anthony Giovanni Medrano, John Christopher Cuesta Mosquera, Shawn Michael Robinson, Meghan Margaret Ryan, Christina Ann White.
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