42 students get GEDs from Wallace College

Wallace Community College provides local students with a chance to pick back up where they may have once stumbled in their education.

The college on Sunday honored 42 students who decided to drop back in on their academic careers by obtaining a General Education Development diploma..

The GED commencement ceremony was held at the main campus in Dothan and Houston County Circuit Judge Larry Anderson delivered a keynote address.

Last year, about 298 people received GEDs through Wallace’s adult education program. According to Sally Buchanan, a Wallace spokeswoman, getting a GED can be an important first step for many Alabama residents in improving their lives. Nearly 1 million adult Alabamians aged 18 and older have neither a high school diploma nor its equivalent. In Houston County, 24.2 percent of the adult population lacks a GED or high school diploma. Because most jobs require at least the equivalent of a two-year college degree, getting a GED helps Alabamians move toward better opportunities.

Linda Young, Wallace Community College president said in a press release that Sunday’s GED recipients will be prepared to pursue higher education or to move into the local work force with greater earning power than those without a high school diploma. 

According to the college, graduates from Sunday’s program included Stephanie Jimenez (Valedictorian), Christopher Woodard (Salutatorian), James T. Barnes and Savannah Lynn Todd (Honor Graduates), Jake Adams, Cassandra Anderson, Justin Chad Baker, Rena Danielle Bass, Rebecca Ann Beitz, Troy Butler, Amelia Anne Childers, Carissa Renee Clark, Shamieka Conover, Cayla Marie Cordle, Eugene Raymond Cronk, Phillip Feick, Gloria Fennell, Hiram Green, Laci Jade Griffin, Brittany Neal Grommes, Jessica Marie Hall, Savannah Hughes, Shacirra Monique Jackson,  Cody Jones, James Kehle, Christopher Leonard, Areacia Shanteze Luke, Nataja D. Lyles, Louise Mayo, Denise McKinnon, Judith A. Newman, Phelan Reaver, Sue B. Ritter, Christi Renee Russom, Holly Taylor, Ceciliy Odessa Thornton, Linessa Vickers, Marie Watkins, Sabrina LeAnne Watson, Yvonne Whitehead, Towanna Michelle Williams and Pam Wilson.