Why Getting Your GED Is NOT Failing
I am writing this for anyone who is thinking about, has received, or will receive their GEDs. I had never given that fact that I had my GED a second thought until recently. During my first semester in my MSW program and while talking to someone about my background. When I said that I had dropped out of school at sixteen and had received my GED, the person looked both surprised and a tad bit shocked, though not in a negative way I suspect.
However, I know that there is an unsaid “they couldn’t cut in high school” type of feeling by some people when someone says that they have a GED. This is somewhat troubling to me since the majority of nontraditional students and/or first generation “FristGens” students have received their GEDs. So, for all of those who think that they can’t get ahead with, and those who think less of, a GED let me share my story.
I am from Toledo, Ohio but have spent a lot of time in Georgia, Minnesota and Washington D.C. I come from an extremely low-income female headed household but have always been a good student. I left school out of necessity (because for some reason no one cared that I wasn’t going to school) having given birth to the first of my eight children at age seventeen. I spent the next six years just concentrating on surviving and raising my children the best way I could, but I knew I wanted to go back to school. I knew it was my destiny, I knew I wanted something more, I knew I needed to support my children, and so when the opportunity finally presented itself I took it. This opportunity came about because my low income housing project had a GED class within walking distance.
The beginning
I simply walked in one day, since I had a reliable baby sitter and some free time which was rarely the case, and talked to someone. I said that I wanted to start classes and was offered all five GED practice tests that day which I then took. Although, I was confident I was still unsure how I fared until the instructor scored them and said, “You don’t need any classes, you can take the test now if you want to.” My writing was so well done that I was asked if my essay could be used as an example to others for which I readily agreed. We scheduled my GED exam that day which was entirely covered ($75) by the class through the Ohio ABLE program.
How it happened
I got my GED in 2009 when I was 22 and seven months pregnant with my fourth child; started at Mercy College of Ohio in 2011 when I had just turned 24; had three more children while in college; and graduated with honors in 2015 (with both an Associates of Science in General Studies and Bachelors of Science in Healthcare Administration with honors) at the age of 28. I also received a minor in Psychology and an emphasis in Religious Studies.
Where I’m headed
I am now in graduate school pursing both a Masters of Social Work (Macro track) and a Graduate Certificate in Alcohol and Substance Abuse Studies. I also plan on going to law school sometime in the future and have already started the process. My dream is to found a non-profit organization that addresses the most important needs (which certainly includes legal) within the African American community.
What this all means
Take it from me, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO. YOU ARE A SURVIVOR. YOU OVERCOME ADVERSITY AND YOU SHOULD BE PROUD. I wear my GED like a badge of honor because I know what it takes to get there. There are doctors, lawyers, engineers, and all types of other high powered professionals who obtained their GED and have become VERY successful. One example is Attorney Jose Baez who also received his GED and is one of the best defense attorneys in the United States having successfully defended Casey Anthony.
I would say the only real downside of obtaining a GED over high school diploma is the lack of scholarships offered at four your colleges and/or universities. I think that this is an issue because many of the scholarship programs rely heavily on SAT and/or ACT scores and since we GED recipients rarely take these tests, I know I didn’t and had no intention of taking them, we simply don’t qualify for the awards. Now, should one take the SAT/ACT’s, which I believe are open to GED recipients, and do well, you may be able to qualify. Good luck on your future endeavors:)
UPDATE:
I graduated with my MSW, I specialized in Policy, from Wayne State University in May of 2018. I am currently pursuing a Masters degree in Public Administration. I am also pursing two graduate certificates one in Addiction, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies — I will be graduating with my certificate in May of 2019 — and the other in Communications and New Media. Law school is still in the cards.
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Latagia Copeland-Tyronce, MSW, CADAS, is a longtime parental rights and social justice advocate, child welfare reform activist, writer/blogger, and journalist whose work has been featured in BlackMattersUs and Rise Magazine. She is the founder, president, and executive director of the National African American Families First and Preservation Association (NAFPA) a groundbreaking 501c4 nonprofit origination, the first of its kind, devoted exclusively to the protection and preservation of the African American (Black) Family though policy and legislative advocacy. Follow Latagia on Instagram, Twitter, Quora, and Facebook.
