Graduation ceremonies to honor 325 GED recipients

Ozarks Technical Community College will honor its GED graduates with two ceremonies on Sunday, May 31, at the Gillioz Theatre in downtown Springfield.  The first ceremony will be held at 1 p.m., with the second following at 3:30 p.m.  Attorney Rodney E. Loomer will be the keynote speaker.

The two events will honor the 325 students who earned a GED this year.  More than 3,000 students participate in the College’s Adult Education and Learning programs each year, either for remedial courses to work on basic skills, to study English as a second language, or to earn their GED.  Upon completion of their GED, the College gives each student their first three credit hours of college coursework for free.

“A lot of the students in the program now are displaced workers from across southwest Missouri,” said Ramona George, director of Adult Education and Learning at the College.  “Earning a GED will make those workers better able to re-enter the workforce, more prepared for the challenges of finding work in today’s economy, or able to go on to further education.”

The GED, a high school equivalency diploma, is earned through a rigorous class, capped by a comprehensive five-part test and essay.  Each year, more than 10,000 Missourians earn their GED.  Sixty-five percent of GED test-takers plan to enter college, technical or business school within the next year.