Many who don't finish high school for one reason or another find there are roadblocks to their progress. To remove those roadblocks, they need to get their High School Equivalency (HSE - formerly called GED) diploma, or complete some more steps to attain their Adult Diploma.
Winnemucca's Job Opportunities in Nevada (JOIN) office provides classes for both those who come to their offices in Winnemucca and for minimum security inmates at the Humboldt Conservation Camp.
At last weekend's graduation ceremony at the Winnemucca Convention Center west hall, 28 JOIN students received HSE Diplomas and three earned Adult Education Diplomas. Nineteen more students from Humboldt Conservation Camp earned HSE Diplomas and four received Adult Education Diplomas.
Makie Kawahata was honored for achieving the highest grade point average among those completing the classes and taking the tests. JOIN Director Joyce Moore said Kawahata's achievement is particularly admirable since she is from Japan and English is not her native language. "She was a highly-educated woman when she came here from Japan and an Adult Diploma was something she wanted to earn for herself," commented Moore.
Moore shared a couple of other specific graduates' stories. Sherry Kersting came to JOIN to help encourage her daughter to finish her high school education; Kersting's daughter didn't complete the program at this time, but Kersting did.
"One gentleman had a very good job, but lost it because his employers learned he lacked a high school diploma," said Moore. In addition to helping him get his HSE, he was able to get his commercial drivers' license (CDL) through JOIN. "Now he has another good job and he's doing great," said Moore.
When the Midas Mine sold, the employees all had to re-apply and one employee took the opportunity to finish his HSE in the interim so he could include that on his re-applicaiton. Moore said it took him only a month to complete the requirements and earn his diploma.
Some at JOIN who are working on their high school equivalency diplomas are remanded from Drug Court; many are there on their own because they've realized the mistake of not finishing high school.
JOIN personnel took the opportunity to explain the difference between the HSE Diploma and the Adult Diploma. An Adult Diploma is truly the equivalent of a high school education. "The only thing missing is the credits for physical education classes," said Moore. Although the diplomas formerly known as GED are now called HSE for 'high school equivalent' they aren't really the equivalent of a high school diploma. Moore said an HSE diploma is the equivalent of about a tenth grade education. In spite of that, JOIN Program Specialist Rebecca Dias noted that an HSE Diploma is accepted for entrance into the National Guard (although not usually into the other branches of military service), it is sufficient to fill the high school diploma requirement for many employers and it is enough for entrance into Great Basin College classes, provided a student passes the placement tests, if needed, for admission to a particular class.
Moore also said the JOIN staff makes every effort to give incoming students as much credit as possible. They carefully evaluate high school transcripts to give credit for classes completed, and if a student passes the HSE test with a high enough score, it's possible to waive some of the additional classes needed to earn an adult diploma.
One more help is that two of the tests which can be administered for High School Equivalency are actually paper and pencil tests - no computers needed. "We have older clients who may be intimidated by working on the computer," Moore noted. "In that case, we have other ways to do it."
The community has been very supportive of the programs and the students. "We were very pleased with attendance at the graduation," said Moore. "We had only a couple of empty chairs."
Moore said people sometimes ask how the JOIN staff handles the disappointment when many of the people who start out trying to finish their diplomas end up not dropping out again. She said that although there are some who don't complete, there are many who do. "You keep those shining stars in your mind and on the tough days you take them out to remind you it's all worth it," said said.
Once individuals sign up at JOIN to complete their high school education, "We keep them on the roles until they finish - or die," said Moore with a smile. "We call and check in with them occasionally and encourage them to come in and get started again. We know that sometimes life just gets in the way of them finishing at this particular time. These are adults who often have families, jobs, bills, even health problems."
Moore knows from very personal experience that it can be done. "I came here to JOIN as a non-high school graduate and got my GED, then my Adult Diploma and worked up to Join manager from there."[[In-content Ad]]
