Several Española-area residents are one step closer to enjoying the middle-class lifestyle that many experts believe an education helps secure.
About 60 Northern New Mexico College Adult Basic Education and High School Equivalency Program students received their General Education Development certificates, Dec. 7. The ceremony was held in front of a standing room-only crowd at the Nick Salazar Center for the Arts.
Before receiving their certificates, the students received words of encouragement and hope from keynote speaker Chris Trujillo, Northern New Mexico College’s lead information technology specialist and student speakers Manuel Padilla and Shaylynn Herrera. The overarching message from all three speakers was, don’t give up on yourself and don’t give in to adversity.
Equivalency Program Director Shari Jobe said the students should be proud of their accomplishments, especially since most people who earned a traditional diploma would have a hard time passing the exam.
“It is hard, hard, hard,” she said. “I had a student, once, who took the first of five exams and came back to my office and said, ‘I am going back to high school — it is much easier.’ I don’t know if everyone knows this, but 70 percent of graduating seniors in the United Sates cannot pass this exam. This means that these students are a part of the elite 30 percent, nationally, that passed.”
Equivalency Program graduate Christian Cordova threw his cap into the audience and pumped his fist, after receiving his certificate. He was surrounded by family and friends, including his grandmother Margaret Montoya, who raised him, and former Pojoaque Valley Schools assistant principal Johnathan Brannon.
Cordova said he dropped out of school after falling behind in his studies and is pleased to have earned his certificate. He looks forward to enrolling in Northern for the spring semester, so he can start working toward his career goal of being a forensic scientist.
“It feels great,” he said of the certificate. “I accomplished something and a lot of people said that I couldn’t. This just throws it in their face.”
Brannon, who now teaches in Albuquerque, made the drive to show support and recognize his former student’s achievement. He said he kept up with Cordova on Facebook in the years since he left his position with the Pojoaque Valley School District.
“I kept pushing him to get him to finish,” Brannon said. “There is more than one way to be successful. I came here to see him and I was able to see six or seven of my former students.”
Montoya said her grandson has the gift of gab and reminds her of one of the area’s former political bosses.
“He talks to any and everyone like Emilio Naranjo used to do,” she said.
Montoya was happy to witness him graduate and believes his accomplishment is a testament to his ability to overcome adversity.
Cordova’s classmate Antonio Perea said he is also excited about earning his high school credentials and looks forward to the future. The certificate is the first step toward achieving a lifetime of prosperity.
“I am pretty happy right now that I got my GED,” he said. “I will be starting college for computer engineering.”
The recent graduate said he has just one piece of advice for those who may be unsure about returning to school or seeking a GED.
“Get it done and finished,” Perea said. “Get your education, get going in life and put yourself in a position to make yourself successful.”
Certificates and degrees
The day after the Dec. 7 Adult Basic Education and High School Equivalency Program ceremony, Northern officials hosted a ceremony for those who earned a college degree or workforce certificate.
About 96 students received their academic and workforce credentials during the 6 p.m., Dec. 8, graduation ceremony. The ceremony was also held at the Nick Salazar Center for the Arts.
Eighty-seven students earned academic degrees in a variety of disciplines from environmental sciences to nursing. Of the 87 degrees, 19 were four-year degrees and nine certificates were awarded to students for programs to include barbering and electrical technology.