For most of us,
graduating high school is a right of passage we simply take for granted. But for some students, high school graduation
never happened. Life circumstances cut
short their educational pursuits and replaced those dreams with a full-time job,
an instant family, or a broken home.
Rosita Lopez was one of those students who never experienced the joy of
walking across that stage and receiving the diploma.
Rosita had to give up her
schooling in order to go to work at a young age to help support her family and
never graduated high school. But she
never gave up her dreams of getting her high school diploma. After working at the same company for more
than 20 years, cutbacks dictated layoffs and Rosita found herself without a job. That’s when she realized she needed that high
school diploma in order to qualify for a new position. But it was more than that for Rosita.
“At 63 years old, I
needed to find a new job,” Rosita said.
“but it was also a matter of personal fulfillment and pride for me to
finally accomplish something that had been nagging at me all those years.”
Rosita had never given up
her dream of finishing her schooling and actively sought out a GED completion
program. She found the Lighthouse GED
Tutoring program and immediately enrolled.
With all her life experiences, she progressed through the program very
quickly and took her GED exam within a year of beginning the LCM tutoring
program. When asked to speak about her
experiences in the program to the newer students, she had this to say.
“First, don’t wait until
you’re 63 to begin this program,” she said with a grin. “These teachers gave me
their personal time after class, I was able to send them emails on the weekend,
and they sat and prayed with me when I needed it most. If you do your part, these ladies will not
let you fail.”
Approximately 25 students
participated in the Lighthouse GED Tutorial program in 2018, and along with
Rosita, three other students graduated from the program and passed their
exam. Those students were finally able
to experience the excitement of accomplishing something so many of us take for
granted.
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