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20 honored in GED graduation ceremony at MU
by Bryan G. Robinson
Dave Potter, 41, Osceola Township, and Edna Lowry, 70, Sullivan Township, dropped out of school when they were 16.
Both had fathers that died when they were young and, as a result, both dropped out of school to go to work: Potter in the middle of 10th grade from nearby Cowanesque Valley High School and Lowry after finishing 10th grade from a school in Philadelphia.
In February this year, both passed their General Equivalency Diploma tests. Lowry had a perfect 800 on her reading score.
In a ceremony at Straughn Hall at Mansfield University on Saturday, Potter and Lowry were among a group of 20 people who were recognized for passing their GED tests.
As a student speaker at the ceremony, Lowry reflected on the event's significance. “This is a very special day,” she said in her speech. “I've been to many graduations, for my children and my grandchildren, but this is mine.”
Lowry and her husband, Lawrence Lowry, have four children and five grandchildren.
“I'm so proud of her,” said her daughter, Dr. Catherine Walkovic of Landon, who is a reading instructor at Ironton Elementary School in Copley near Allentown. One of the Lowrys' other children, Paul Walkovic of Philadelphia, who is an inventory manager for Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, also was in attendance.
“It bothered me all my life that I didn't finish high school,” said Lowry before the ceremony. “My husband kept saying that I should get my GED, and when I turned 69, I decided I would get it by the time I was 70.”
So when her husband showed her an ad in a newspaper for a GED class last fall, she jumped at the opportunity.
For Potter, he felt like he had no choice but to get his GED. “It's one of those deals you can be a laborer all your life or you can get a real job,” he said. “I needed to upgrade my financing.”
Before getting his GED, he worked for 14 years at Morgan and Margraff Lumber in Elkland. “It was a great place to work, but there was no room for advancement,” he said.
He now works for Trumbull Corporation, a construction company, he said.
“I did it for me and my family,” he said. Potter and his wife, Lisa, have a daughter, Brittany, 13.
“I'm very proud of him,” said Lisa Potter. “I knew he could do it.” She said he was the one who encouraged her to graduate from Elkland High School in 1986.
In addition to getting a new job, Dave Potter also ran for Osceola Township supervisor last November and won. Without working toward his GED, he doesn't know if he could have done that.
The graduation ceremony marked only the fourth graduation in the history of the adult basic education program at the university, which began in 1987. The other three, according to Cyndi Compton, director of the program, were in 1997, 1999 and 2005, with 24 individuals graduating last year.
All together, about 70 students that went through the adult basic education program at Mansfield University received their GEDs this year, said Compton.
Since the program began, about 1,900 have taken or passed the test, she said. “Students pay $60 for GED, but can earn a scholarship to help pay for the test,” she said.
The classes, though, are free and are held in different times and locations around Tioga County, from Westfield to Tioga to Wellsboro, to name just a few places. The adult basic education program also holds intensive-study classes for four weeks at the end of the school year.
Classes are taught by volunteer instructors: Deb Enderle, Stephanie Case, Ashley Wagner, Joe Callahan, Carrie Heath, Jeremiah Gee, Miriam Cummings, Kay Patton and Sharon Hamm.
Enderle, who helped present certificates of recognition at the ceremony, was given a special recognition herself for 16 1/2 years with the program. “No student is too challenging for her,” said Compton.
In addition to Enderle and Edna Lowry, who were singled out for special recognition, graduates given special recognition were:
n Justin Burkeholder, who scored a perfect 800 in reading;
n Jacob Buck, achieved the highest score in science and social studies;
n Katie Keown, who will attend Mansfield University in the fall;
n Darrin Smith, who will attend Mansfield University's Police Academy;
n Thomas Meck, who was sworn into the Army National Guard;
n Tristan McClure, who will attend Empire Beauty School this fall;
n Gregory Carter, Amanda Lundy and Angela Stiles, who completed a separate “Ready to Learn” program.
The rest of the graduates were Brandon Andrews, Harry Hall, Justina Hll, Jamie Kirk, Ray Kulpinski, Belinda Rager, Dustin Stone, John Thompson and Noel Winters.
Both had fathers that died when they were young and, as a result, both dropped out of school to go to work: Potter in the middle of 10th grade from nearby Cowanesque Valley High School and Lowry after finishing 10th grade from a school in Philadelphia.
In February this year, both passed their General Equivalency Diploma tests. Lowry had a perfect 800 on her reading score.
In a ceremony at Straughn Hall at Mansfield University on Saturday, Potter and Lowry were among a group of 20 people who were recognized for passing their GED tests.
As a student speaker at the ceremony, Lowry reflected on the event's significance. “This is a very special day,” she said in her speech. “I've been to many graduations, for my children and my grandchildren, but this is mine.”
Lowry and her husband, Lawrence Lowry, have four children and five grandchildren.
“I'm so proud of her,” said her daughter, Dr. Catherine Walkovic of Landon, who is a reading instructor at Ironton Elementary School in Copley near Allentown. One of the Lowrys' other children, Paul Walkovic of Philadelphia, who is an inventory manager for Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, also was in attendance.
“It bothered me all my life that I didn't finish high school,” said Lowry before the ceremony. “My husband kept saying that I should get my GED, and when I turned 69, I decided I would get it by the time I was 70.”
So when her husband showed her an ad in a newspaper for a GED class last fall, she jumped at the opportunity.
For Potter, he felt like he had no choice but to get his GED. “It's one of those deals you can be a laborer all your life or you can get a real job,” he said. “I needed to upgrade my financing.”
Before getting his GED, he worked for 14 years at Morgan and Margraff Lumber in Elkland. “It was a great place to work, but there was no room for advancement,” he said.
He now works for Trumbull Corporation, a construction company, he said.
“I did it for me and my family,” he said. Potter and his wife, Lisa, have a daughter, Brittany, 13.
“I'm very proud of him,” said Lisa Potter. “I knew he could do it.” She said he was the one who encouraged her to graduate from Elkland High School in 1986.
In addition to getting a new job, Dave Potter also ran for Osceola Township supervisor last November and won. Without working toward his GED, he doesn't know if he could have done that.
The graduation ceremony marked only the fourth graduation in the history of the adult basic education program at the university, which began in 1987. The other three, according to Cyndi Compton, director of the program, were in 1997, 1999 and 2005, with 24 individuals graduating last year.
All together, about 70 students that went through the adult basic education program at Mansfield University received their GEDs this year, said Compton.
Since the program began, about 1,900 have taken or passed the test, she said. “Students pay $60 for GED, but can earn a scholarship to help pay for the test,” she said.
The classes, though, are free and are held in different times and locations around Tioga County, from Westfield to Tioga to Wellsboro, to name just a few places. The adult basic education program also holds intensive-study classes for four weeks at the end of the school year.
Classes are taught by volunteer instructors: Deb Enderle, Stephanie Case, Ashley Wagner, Joe Callahan, Carrie Heath, Jeremiah Gee, Miriam Cummings, Kay Patton and Sharon Hamm.
Enderle, who helped present certificates of recognition at the ceremony, was given a special recognition herself for 16 1/2 years with the program. “No student is too challenging for her,” said Compton.
In addition to Enderle and Edna Lowry, who were singled out for special recognition, graduates given special recognition were:
n Justin Burkeholder, who scored a perfect 800 in reading;
n Jacob Buck, achieved the highest score in science and social studies;
n Katie Keown, who will attend Mansfield University in the fall;
n Darrin Smith, who will attend Mansfield University's Police Academy;
n Thomas Meck, who was sworn into the Army National Guard;
n Tristan McClure, who will attend Empire Beauty School this fall;
n Gregory Carter, Amanda Lundy and Angela Stiles, who completed a separate “Ready to Learn” program.
The rest of the graduates were Brandon Andrews, Harry Hall, Justina Hll, Jamie Kirk, Ray Kulpinski, Belinda Rager, Dustin Stone, John Thompson and Noel Winters.
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przybycj wrote on Feb 1, 2009 8:38 PM: