Student Story: Heather

When she had her son, she dropped out of high school to stay home and take care of him. She tried to finish her diploma once before, in Delaware, but transportation problems got in the way. This year, she tried again, and this time she had a new reason to see it through: helping motivate her own son to graduate high school too. Now they will walk across the stage in the same year. Both part of the class of 2026.

She describes the journey as wonderful. Staff were always available to answer questions and give her material to practice with, something that mattered a lot given how much of her plate was already full.

Math was the hardest part, no question. “Math, math, math,” she says. She passed by two points. As far as she’s concerned, a pass is a pass.

What she’ll remember most, though, is the people. Everyone she encountered was positive and kind, and the space felt safe in a way that made the hard work possible.

Her advice to anyone considering the same path is simple: you can do it, and it’s not as hard as people think.

Looking ahead, she’s setting her sights on addiction counseling, or possibly psychology. She’s been through a lot in her own life, and she believes that experience is exactly what will let her help other people through theirs.

When her results came back and she saw the green pass, it was all she could talk about for two hours. She refreshed the page over and over, checking again and again, much to her son’s amusement. He may have been driven a little nuts by it, but he had a front row seat to watching his mom prove to herself, and to him, that it was never too late to finish what she started.

Congratulations to Heather, who completed her final GED section in late August 2026 and earned her high school equivalency diploma. We can’t wait to see where this takes her!