Woman earns GED, wants to pursue nursing

Attitude can help open doors for job seekers, and the most outward expression of a good attitude is a smile, Jack Sasser told 29 graduates Sunday at Wallace Community College.

Overwhelmingly, positive attitudes are within this pool of students who received General Educational Development (GED) diplomas from Wallace’s Adult Education program.

Graduate Sabrina Adams of Dothan shared her smile with her two children, Vivian, 3, and Alexander 1. As she led the recessional from Cherry Hall, little Vivian took her mother’s hand, proudly marching out with her.

Adams, 25, said she is looking forward to the rest of her life and wants to continue her education.

“I dropped out of Eufaula High School in 2001. My step-dad’s mom got sick and I quit school to take care of her.”

Adams later took another job sitting with an elderly couple for about five years. Now, with GED in hand, Adams plans to take Certified Nursing Assistant classes and get a job at a local nursing home. She may pursue a nursing career.

“This has opened a lot of doors and I still hope to go further in the medical field after CNA classes,” she said.

Adams, like a lot of her peers, didn’t always have the best footsteps to follow. Many of the graduates come from families where education has not been prioritized. Adams has four brothers and three sisters, all of whom dropped out of high school. She was inspired by the two siblings who went on to complete their GEDs.

“I am very proud of her,” Adams’ mother, Teresa Fikes said. “It was especially hard with two kids. She did it. We’re all very excited.”

When they signed up at Wallace, all students were asked why they wanted to get a GED. Adams answer was to the point.  “To better myself so I could raise a family,” she wrote.

The students, ages 16 to 46, listed a variety of reasons as to why they wanted to get a GED, including: Personal satisfaction; to get a better job; to be a role model for family; and because family members wanted them to. Many said circumstances and trouble at school kept them from graduating with their peers.

What’s important, said Linda Watson, director of Adult Education, is that they came back and didn’t become a statistic. The Census Bureau reports there are 1 million adults in Alabama who do not have a high school diploma or the equivalent – nearly 25 percent of the population.

“Attitude means everything,” said Sasser, who is director of Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center in Dothan. “The happiest people are not those who have everything but those who use what they have.”

Class honor graduates were Christina Fortune, Taylor McKee and Nichole Quebec.