Eighty-four to receive diplomas, GEDs tonight

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Robert and Erica Young, of Kalkaska, pose Wednesday for a photo. The two are scheduled to graduate from the Michigan Works! Adult Education program today at Milliken Auditorium. Record-Eagle/Keith King

June 14, 2012

Eighty-four to receive diplomas, GEDs tonight

BY JAMES RUSSELL jrussell@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Thu Jun 14, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Erica and Robert Young came close to graduating high school, but they fell short a few credits and left Kalkaska High without a diploma.

Five years later, Erica wants to study veterinary medicine in college and Robert wants to enter military service. But without a high school diploma, those goals were out of reach.

That will change tonight, when the husband and wife walk across the stage at Milliken Auditorium to pick up diplomas as part of Michigan Works' adult education class of 2012.

"We're extremely excited," Erica said. "Especially since I'll be the only one out of four kids in my family that has their diploma. I beat my brothers."

Erica and Robert are among 84 graduates receiving diplomas or GEDs tonight. The Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District collaborates with Northwest Michigan Works, Northwest Michigan Council of Governments, and local school districts to offer continuing education classes to more than 1,500 students a year.

"We work with anybody from 16 and all the way up. I think our oldest graduate was 89," said Christy Nelson, adult education coordinator with the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments. "We work with people on high school completion, getting their GEDs, or people who have lost their jobs in the workforce and might want to go back to college but don't because they don't have the skills."

The adult education program operates six learning labs in the 10-county region, and a high school completion program at the TBA Career-Tech Center in Traverse City. The learning lab programs are free and include high school completion credits, GED preparation, English as a second language, and basic classes in reading, math, writing and computer skills.

The programs are open year-round, with flexible class schedules, and students can start and study at their own pace.

Nelson said the annual graduation ceremony is an inspiring event.

"It's my reward, because I usually sit behind the desk, doing the paperwork to get things going," she said. "This is my one time to really see students and hear their stories."

Steve Sumrall, 44, is the student speaker at tonight's commencement. He was able to brush up on some classes and pass his GED in just three weeks. Now he plans to study renewable energy and the environment at Northwestern Michigan College.

"I worked in the restaurant industry most of my life, but there's not much of a future there," Sumrall said. "I'm trying to think of the future and get into different career."

Sumrall is trying to set a good example for his five sons so they don't repeat his mistake of not finishing school.

"When you're a teenager, you think you know it all. You have the world by the horns. I had a girlfriend, a good paying job ... I was living on my own," he said. "When you're 18, you don't think of future. But it's hard to go back and complete things you passed over."