Life After Getting the GED

If you ask most of the adults who graduate with a GED what was one of the driving forces that propelled them to start their journey, the answer would most likely be fear.

Agonizing fear of not getting a new job or a better job. Fear of not being able to get much-needed training or fear of never being able to attend college. Or the biggest fear of all, setting a bad example that would prevent their children from completing high school or going on to college.

Add to all of that the almost paralyzing fear they feel about entering the GED classroom for the first time. Adults working on their GED quickly realize they are not alone in their journey, reducing the fear. Plus, the rewards can include better employment and a better life.

“The jobs that are coming back are more for the skilled positions," said Amy Miller, Resource Center manager at the Employment Source in Canton. "For those that don’t have the baseline literacy skills, it complicates the entire process of getting a job, from filling out the application to taking pre-employment tests or entrance exams for those wanting to get more education.”

Going from little education to enrolling in a college degree program adds yet another level of fear. Those GED students entering find a support community waiting for them with the GED Scholars program.

“We support the scholars as they need,” said Carrie White, director of the GED Scholars Initiative.

“We can help GED graduates transition to college with support from the university, for academic, financial and social needs.”

GED Scholars also offers a peer-to-peer mentoring program so new students can find guidance and support from other GED graduates who are successfully making the transition.

A second program offered is the Bridges to College program, a multi-day schedule of workshops that helps students move from the GED preparation program to university life. Admissions and financial aid personnel — plus professors, deans and others — get involved with the workshops to introduce the new students to the university system.

“We give them the real deal of what it is like to be a college student,” White said.

One student who has used all of the options from the Scholars program is Nancy Aquilla de C, who is now working on her English as a Second Language teaching degree. Aquilla de C came to the United States in 1992 from Ecuador. She could not speak a word of English. She did have a high school diploma from her country, but needed a GED to go to college in the U.S.

She began with English as a Second Language classes to bring up her English speaking and writing skills. Next, she earned her GED. When it came time to start on her college education, the GED scholar program on the campus was recommended to her.  

She attended workshops for the Bridges program to get a sense of what attending college was all about. She was then assigned two mentors through the peer-to-peer program to help with her transition.

“The Bridges workshop is great to reduce the fear and anxiety and learn to what to expect in college,” Aquilla de C said.

“The mentors have helped me a lot. They took me to my first class and told me about the need to complete the homework.”

Today, Aquilla de C is a busy junior at Kent State attending classes at the Stark and Kent campuses. She said she's proud of her advancement and happy to have the opportunity to succeed.

For more information about the GED Scholars or the Bridges program, call 330-672-4649 or visit gedscholars.org.