The daily Astorian., June 10, 2016, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 4A, Image 4

OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2016
‘EDUCATION IS FOREVER.
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO START.’
Gudelia Contreras Flores | 2012 GED graduate
Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Jason Johnston holds his son Ryan Johnston, 1, before receiving his GED certificate during the GED graduation ceremony Monday at Clatsop Community College.
GED graduates are ‘bravest
students in the world’
Knowing we are not all on the same learning schedule is liberating
W
hen my wife attends the pinning ceremony
for Clatsop Community College’s nursing
program, her description of the graduates and their
families brings tears to my eyes.
2016 CLATSOP COMMUNITY
COLLEGE GED GRADUATES
She was an instructor in that program. She became
intimately aware of the economic and family pressures
on many of the students.
On Monday night I saw another set of college gradu-
ates get their diplomas. It was no less
emotional. These men and women
had obtained their GED certiicates.
It is the equivalent to a high school
diploma. Tom Gill, dean of Trans-
fer Education, invited me to speak.
Of the 27 who were eligible, seven
came to the ceremony.
These are “the bravest students in
the world,” said Gill.
The most eloquent speaker of
Steve
the evening was Gudelia Contreras
Forrester
Flores, a 2012 GED graduate. Flores
described herself as “a migrant
worker,” and she came to the CCC
program with no English language skills.
She was drawn to the annual WINGS conference
(Women Interested in Going to School). Of that day she
said: “That was the best payday I had. I never looked back.
I realized you have to be something in your life,”
Challenging the night’s graduates, she said: “The GED
is key to open doors to higher education.”
In her inal admonition Flores said: “Education is for-
ever. It is never too late to start.”
C
ompared to when I graduated from high school and
college (1964 and 1971), we have come a long way
in understanding two things. There is growing recognition
that all of us are not on the same schedule when it comes to
earning a diplomas. Secondly, we understand how each of
us is driven by different learning styles.
To someone who is not on the same schedule as many
of his peers, those two realizations are liberating.
Seaside’s Jason Kinnunen looks out the window af-
ter receiving his GED certificate Monday at Clatsop
Community College.
I owe the U.S. Marine Corps for convincing me that I
wanted to get a college education. Entering Portland State
University in 1968, I was far more motivated than I was in
my irst college career, which ended in lunking out.
It is easy for me to take my college diploma for granted.
But I remember my father’s words at a post-graduation
dinner. He quoted the punch line of a joke: “By God, he
made it.”
Austin Auttelet
Davis Haymond
Dillon Bloomer
Shaun Jesse
Jeff Bolles
Jason Johnston
Jakob Bunnell
Brian Kettner
Andrew Burkhart
Jason Kinnumen
Shane Corbin
Kristina Martin
Zachary Dean
Mary Murry
Kilie Donovan
Brent Newberry
Emily-Jean Duell
Shelly Newman
Curtis Fosdick
Veronica Parra Cal-
deron
Christian
Goodemote
Connor Reynolds
Randall Hamm
Kendel Shelton
Donald Hammack
Joshua Weis
Clayton Hanson
Lakota Wilson
Darrelle Harkleroad
W
e do things for other people. Someone in our
lives — whether family, a friend, teacher, coach
– pushes us to complete our education. Monday night’s
GED graduates were joined by family and friends who
were demonstrably emotionally invested in the outcome
we all observed.
My contribution to the evening was brief. I took joy
in quoting my favorite guru, Earl Weaver, manager of the
Baltimore Orioles in their golden years. Said the Balti-
more skipper: “It’s what you learn after you think you
know it all that counts.”
— S.A.F.
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