Samson Pickens was determined to be a successful father and good role model for his two children. To provide them with all the support they needed and the footsteps he hoped they’d follow in, he knew he needed a great career. But first, he’d have to earn his high school diploma.
Lateka Perry found herself surrounded by a lot of prominent, successful people… people who saw her potential and pushed her. But she didn’t always believe in herself. She was an entrepreneur, a mentor, a mother. There was just one problem: she just couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t as smart or as deserving of success as the people she looked up to. She didn’t have her high school diploma. But with the support of her husband and children, she was finally able to prove to herself that she could finish what she started.
Tiffaney always strived to be the role model her daughter needed. To show her just how important education is, Tiffaney decided to finish her schooling. But first, she needed to complete her high school diploma with help from the Library's Center for Adult Learning. After passing the G.E.D. Test®, she's ready and eager to get her bachelor's degree and move forward in her career.
After a close friend completed her high school diploma with help from the Library's Center for Adult Learning, Geneva started to picture herself in that cap and gown, holding her own high school diploma. Now she's passed her G.E.D. Test® and she's ready for the next chapter of her amazing story.
Lianying Ye earned a medical degree in China. Tragically all of her school records and proof of credentials were lost in a fire. Knowing that Lianying wanted to resume her education, a friend suggested the library as a place where she might take computer classes and GED classes.
Getting past the GED test might lead to your childhood dream—even if it’s to become a mortician. So the story goes for Jacqueline, a 2018 GED graduate at Jacksonville Public Library, who dreamed of becoming a mortician. Despite receiving a certificate of completion from high school, Jacqueline, who’s enrolled in Florida State College at Jacksonville’s mortuary science program, realized she’d need more than that to pursue the career she envisioned.
Dante Chandler, 32 years old and happily married, professes that his family and five children are his “motivation for living and being a better person.” One thing he looks forward to each week is making a trip with the kids to the public library, typically the Willowbranch Branch Library, which is near the kids’ school, or the Main Library if they’re venturing close to downtown.
At age 51, Desiree Lazarus took the plunge, and did something she’s had on her bucket list for a long time—she went “back to high school” to get her diploma. After several failed attempts at the GED—she passed the social studies, science and reading sections easily but had difficulty with the writing and math—she’d all but thrown in the towel when she learned about Career Online High School (COHS) at the library.
Khadidiatou “Khadi” Ndiaye, who hails from Senegal, West Africa, first came to Jacksonville Public Library’s Center for Adult Learning (CAL) in 2006 to learn English. As an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) student, she attended English classes on and off for years at CAL, sometimes interrupted for extended periods of time when she made trips back home to Senegal.
Dennis Hoffman’s education was derailed when he quit school to help take care of his teenage sister’s children. Even though he dropped out after failing ninth grade, he never gave up on his dream to continue his education “one day.” That day finally came when Dennis enrolled in GED studies through LEAP—Library Enhanced Access Program—at the library’s Center for Adult Learning (CAL).
