Vicki Ussery, an adult education instructor with Athens Technical College, works with students at the Lena Wise Community Center, where she teaches High School Equivalency classes. The classes are free to adults who want to obtain a diploma. (CHARLOTTE COCHRAN/ THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)
Eliane Aviles has advice for anyone who wants to pursue a high school diploma later in life.
“Don’t be afraid. Don’t let age limit you,” said Aviles, a graduate of the High School Equivalency (HSE) program at the Lena Wise Community Center in Crawford. “No matter what stage of life you are, if you want to further your education … then just go ahead and do it.”
Aviles was born in Cuba and moved to the U.S. as a teenager in 2003. She wasn’t able to finish her high school education in Cuba, so she participated in the HSE program as an adult to improve her chances at finding a job.
“It does mean a lot,” Aviles said. “I feel like I can still have, even at this age, an opportunity to keep growing.”
Athens Technical College offers free, state and federally funded classes in Oglethorpe County to help students earn a HSE diploma.
The classes have been hosted at the Lena Wise Community Center since 2019, and there are four regular in-person students and one online, but the number of students fluctuates.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 11.7% of the population over 25 in Oglethorpe County doesn’t have a high school diploma.
Donna Gonzalez Quintana, a resident of Oglethorpe County, was working, but had to stop due to a medical episode called functional neurological disorder.
Gonzalez Quintana now participates in the HSE program online, with the instructor meeting with her from the Lena Wise Community Center. She’s juggling being a wife, mother and student.
“I decided to get into adult education to better myself, not just for me, but for my toddler, and for my family in general,” Gonzalez Quintana said. “That way my child can look up at me when she gets older and say, ‘Well my mama did it.’”
Gonzalez Quintana said she hopes her toddler sees the way she worked and studied while being a mother, despite her own personal health issues, and that it will be inspirational.
“Don’t let the little stuff stop you from you achieving your goals and your dreams,” Gonzalez Quintana said.
The mandatory requirement for the program is attending six hours of classes a week. Beyond that, students can go at their own pace, depending on how soon they wish to take the exams and their own availability.
Students say the format and instructors help them to achieve their goals.
“They’ll go above and beyond what they’re supposed to do to make sure you succeed,” Gonzalez Quintana said.
Vicki Ussery, the adult education instructor with Athens Technical College, spent 27 years as a public school teacher, and the last 10 years in adult education. She tailors the lessons to the needs of each student, particularly in math, working with students both in person and online.
“I do this because there is a need for adults being able to come in and feel comfortable, and feel accomplishment in finishing their education,” Ussery said.
When they are ready, students can sit for the General Education Development (GED) exam. Before then, there are practice tests available.
“When you go and you take a test, and you pass that test, that is the most rewarding feeling,” Gonzalez Quintana said.
The program also offers vouchers to take the practice tests for the exam. The GED exam also costs money, but there is a Hope scholarship fund students can apply for to cover that cost.
“It’s rewarding to watch them work and get through the exams, and then to walk in graduation,” Ussery said.