111 graduate from St. Thomas Adult Education programs

[SuzanneJacobs]

ST. THOMAS - More than 100 graduates of the Adult Continuing Education program proved Saturday that it is never too late to go back and get a diploma.
In the Charlotte Amalie High School auditorium, hundreds of well-wishers cheered and applauded as the V.I. 2009 All Star Seattle Mariners 51 Ichiro Blue Jerseys Education Department awarded high school diplomas to 64 adult learners.
Another 47 adults earned their general education development certificate through the department's preparatory program, and 14 of the 47 attended the commencement ceremony.
Many of the adults who graduated Saturday said they left junior high or high school because of personal struggles, family problems or a sense that they just did not belong in the educational system. They spent the last two and a half years working full-time and raising families, cramming in classes at night and studying between household chores or shifts at work.
All of them have dreams to go on to other types of work or to earn a college degree.
Benedict Gonzalez, 55, originally from Dominica and a cook at Memorial Moravian School, said she had a stroke in January but was determined to complete her studies. Fortunately, the stroke did not affect her memory or concentration, she said.
"My stroke didn't stop me from coming to school," she said. "I had a lot of help and support, and I just felt like I had to finish."
Her daughter, Sephar Callwood, attends the University of the Virgin Islands, where her mother hopes to join her now that she has a high school diploma. Callwood hugged her mother after the ceremony and told her how proud she was of her achievement.
Nigel Hamm was class representative for the 47 adults who earned GEDs.
Hamm said he left school at age 16 because gang-related violence in his Estate Nazareth neighborhood had become so distracting and bothersome that he just wanted to get a job so he could move to Florida, where he lived for a few years before returning to St. Thomas in 2009.
Hamm realized he would need a GED to become a certified diesel mechanic, so he enrolled in the preparatory program offered through the Education Yankees 2 Derek Jeter White 2010 All Star Jerseys Department last fall and achieved the highest score with a 2510.
"I realized it was time to put away all this foolishness and try to get my GED," he said.
Class salutatorian Krystal Fingal said that as a single mother of two, she was honored to represent her classmates, many of whom were juggling parental responsibilities with studying in the hopes that with a diploma they could earn more money and provide more for their children.
In five or 10 years, Fingal said, she sees herself owning her own business or being a CEO, after earning a bachelor's and possibly a master's degree in Business Management from UVI.
At 44 and after 20 years of working in kitchens, valedictorian Mavis Bozel realized that not having a high school diploma was holding her back from supervisor positions she knew she was qualified to do.
"I was more focused as an adult learner because as a teenager I had no goals, no direction," she said.
Bozel said she studied late into the night while working for catering companies and restaurants during the day. The hard work made her realize that she could earn a college degree while continuing to work in food service.
"In America, you really do have the opportunity to do whatever you want to do, but sometimes it's not that you lack the skills it's that you have to have the diploma. I needed a diploma to become kitchen manager. Now I am planning to go to UVI and study business management," Bozel said.
- Contact Amanda Norris at 714-9104 or email anorris@dailynews.vi.