The first group of students has graduated with GEDs in Spanish from a Dayton program called Plaza Comunitaria.
Plaza Comunitaria Literacy Program in Spanish offers an opportunity for Spanish-speaking students now residing in the U.S. to continue their interrupted education. The program began in September last year.
And now, six students make up the first cohort to earn their diplomas. A graduation ceremony was held at the library on June 12.
Classes are held every Thursday at the Dayton Metro Library’s Main Branch.
MORE COVERAGE: Plaza Comunitaria at Dayton library gives Spanish speakers second chance to earn diplomas
The GED program was created in collaboration with the El Puente after-school program and the Instituto Nacional para la Educación de los Adultos. While there is a cost to the program, there are opportunities for scholarships to cover enrollment and exam costs.
The students come from several countries, such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico. And they want to pursue various professions such as nursing and business.
“It’s never too late to continue learning. It’s never too late to empower yourself and achieve your goals.”
People in the program don’t give themselves enough credit for how much they know, said Gabriela Pickett, New American Specialist at Dayton Metro Library and an administrator of the program.
“I'm really excited to really discover all this potential in the community and I want them to believe in themselves. So I am just on a mission to tell them how wonderful they are so they can believe it and actually do this,” Pickett said.
Mayra Duran, GED coordinator with the library and staff member at El Puente, said people tried to discourage students by saying they couldn’t graduate because they weren’t born here.
But she wanted them to believe otherwise.
“That was the biggest barrier that they had and I said 'no you have a brain and their brain will take you places where you want to be,'” she said.
One of the adult students that graduated from the cohort, Leidy Barragan, said she recommends the program to others all the time because of the opportunities that can come from it.
“It’s never too late to continue learning. It’s never too late to empower yourself and achieve your goals,” Barragan said in Spanish. “…It doesn’t matter your age, status, country or language. What’s important is wanting to improve yourself and move forward.”
This summer, Barragan will be taking an intensive English course so that she can continue her education at Sinclair Community College.
Nathaly Sigua, one of the graduates, had some advice to give to her peers at the ceremony.
“It's about recognizing our worth, embracing our unique talents, and understanding that we have the power to make a difference. We all have that potential waiting to be unleashed,” Sigua said in Spanish.
Pickett believes 30 more students will graduate with GEDs come December.
