Eyes on the Prize

Sesily was an 18 year old teen mother of a two year old daughter when she began my Tolleson GED class.   I had just begun the program and she was one of my first students to enroll.  Prior to starting our class, there were very limited GED classes available in her area so she had been waiting for this opportunity for a while.

 She was a very focused student, from the very beginning.  She was always on time, if not early for class every day.   Her assessments showed that she would be able to begin her testing soon, but still needed some time to sharpen her math and reading skills.

 About two weeks into the program, however, Sesily ran into an obstacle that almost prevented her from being able to complete her studies and achieve her goal of obtaining her GED.  Child care had always been an issue for her, but between her mother and her grandmother watching her daughter, she was able to attend class.  However, one day she informed both me as well as her Workforce Investment Act career advisor that her uncle had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and she was going to have to drop out of class and assist with his care.  We could tell that this was devastating to her but she understood her responsibility to assist her family at this time.  The next day, she was in class at her regular time and informed us that her grandmother had decided that it was important for Sesily to continue her studies and that grandmother would take care of her uncle.  She was overjoyed as she had not wanted to stop working towards her goal of obtaining her GED and following her dream of becoming a cosmetologist.

 Sesily began GED testing, later that week, and decided to take all five tests at once.  I was concerned as this involved 8 hours of testing in one day.  Sesily came back to see me, next week, and showed me her results.  Not only had she passed her tests, but had scored in the 500’s in all areas!

 Now, I am happy to report that Sesily is now enrolled in a Beauty College and is doing well.  She came to see me and reported that she is doing very well and is looking forward to graduating and starting work in a salon.  I congratulated her on her success and commented on how she had starting working towards her goals and never stopped.  She looked so happy and thanked me, as well as her career advisor, for always motivating her and helping her to keep her eyes on the prize, no matter how hard the going got.