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The Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC) celebrated its second annual graduating GED class last month. Fifty-three students celebrated their accomplishment, from left to right, Jorge G., Michael P., and class valedictorian Luis Chavez.
Whether it’s a kindergarten graduation, an elementary school celebration, or reaching for a degree at the university level, for anyone that’s ever completed a program involving an academic curriculum, and that has been rewarded with a degree and a graduation, it signifies a special moment in their lives.
And for all their celebration of ritual, not all graduations are the same. For some, the road to achievement was much longer, and arguably more challenging.
For those, the success can seem much sweeter.
The Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC) held its second annual (General Equivalency Diploma (GED) graduation ceremony last month, celebrating the academic success of 53 students who earned their diplomas through the program.
When Luis Chavez, 20, was in high school, his plans for graduation didn’t quite go as planned.
“I had the wrong set of friends, and I was keeping a job that distracted me from school, so I started cutting class a lot,” explains the Washington Heights resident. After learning about the GED program at NMIC through a friend, Chavez decided to pursue his certificate and is now setting his sights on college.
Chavez, who was named class valedictorian this year, said that his experience had been very positive. “The teachers were great and everyday I looked forward to going to class,” he said.
The program, which started in 1999, seeks to accentuate student-centered and theme-based teaching approaches that emphasize GED test preparation. According to Paola Ruiz, an academic counselor in the Adult Education Department at NMIC, the GED program in the organization has been acknowledged as one of the best in the City.
“Over 80 percent of our students passed their final GED exam; that’s considerably higher than the City-wide average of 43 percent,” said Ruiz.
Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, had to get his own GED certification when he arrived to the States from the Dominican Republic in order to pursue his goal of going to college.
Cindy Keitz, senior program coordinator at CUNY in the Heights, which offers a 102-hour instructional-based GED program, said that her students range from young adults to senior citizens with hopes of attaining their GEDs.
“Many of our students come to us already invested in their lives and careers but looking for further advancement and training,” said Keitz.
The CUNY in the Heights program, which operates out of Cooper Street in Inwood, gives students access to the SUNY technology laboratory which helps to support and enforce the curriculum through software exercises and self-tutorial sections on math, English, reading, and writing.
The GED curriculum is a strictly-adhered-to model which includes preliminary testing to determine which subjects students need the most help in; this includes areas of reading, writing, and math. Students are also tested prior to taking the certification exam to make sure they are fully prepared to pass the test.
But GED programs are not just for young students. The CUNY in the Heights program also serves many adult members of the community that still see an opportunity to reach new goals by pursuing higher education; the first step in that road is usually a GED certificate.
For the Spanish-speaking population in Northern Manhattan, the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Economic Development, (NMCED) offers a GED course taught in Spanish.
The program opened its doors 14 years ago to address the needs of what were then only a handful of students in one classroom. Since then, the program has grown to serve both Washington Heights and Inwood, with an increasing number of students that sometimes are forced onto waiting lists due to the high demand.
“Residents who have arrived from other countries, like Dominican Republic, take advantage of this program,” said Elbagina Bonilla, Deputy Executive Director at NMCED. “They never finished their credentials in their country and cannot get into school here. So this gives them an opportunity to earn their GED in their native language.”
For Chavez, the young student enrolled in the GED program at NMIC, seeing feloow students in class beside him was a source of inspiration.
“Hunger for life and the struggle that I saw in the people that didn’t know English was inspiring,” he said. “I’d like [too] to set the example for young kids in the neighborhood and help them make a difference.”
NMIC’s Paola Ruiz sees the GED programs as a gateway to pursuing bigger dreams and goals – and sees great benefit to the larger quality of life of northern Manhattan.
“The entire community benefits from GED courses by having more skilled and educated workers to join the workforce,” said Ruiz, who said studies have shown that GED recipients are more likely to pursue post-secondary education than high school dropouts who do not receive a GED.
Chavez, who is getting ready for the college application process said that he’s learned the most powerful tool in the body is the mind.
“We can do anything if we put our soul, passion, and perseverance into it,” says the new graduate proudly.
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