For 40-year old Ann, life has not been easy.
Poor choices find her away from her home and two kids, ages 3 and 21. She said it breaks her heart to be away from her family, but she understands that when you make bad decisions, you must be held accountable for those decisions.
Ann is presently incarcerated at Rensselaer County Jail in Troy. It is not an easy place to be. Personal choices are restricted and someone else makes most of the decisions that affect inmates like Ann.
Except for one.
Ann chose to enroll in the GED preparation class taught onsite by Questar III adult literacy staff in the jail.
Questar III BOCES is the education provider for the jails located in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties. If a youth under 21 enters a county jail facility and does not have a high school diploma or GED, participation in the GED preparation classes is required. Adults may enroll on a voluntary basis, space permitting.
Questar III Test Administrator Diane Dooley tests potential students, explains what the test scores mean and prepares them for placement into one of the GED classes.
Teacher Jim McDonough prepares students, like Ann, to take the GED exam. Classes are offered 5 days a week, 3 hours a day.
Before Ann enrolled in the Questar GED class, she never believed she could finish this intensive academic program. But when offered the opportunity by Dooley and McDonough, she decided to prove herself wrong. And she decided to show her children, by example, the importance of education and goal-setting.
Initially, Ann struggled. She found herself writing essays over and over, taking practice tests and writing some more. When she felt frustrated and wanted to give up, Ann looked to McDonough for guidance and support.
The mother of two also looked around her classroom at the younger students and decided she had to be a good example for them. In the end, Ann stayed the course and took the GED exam at the jail in December 2011.
Several weeks ago, when Ann learned that she passed the exam, she needed proof. She had to see the diploma for herself.
On January 31, Adult Literacy Facilitator Pamela Mertz presented Ann with her diploma at a modest ceremony held in the GED classroom.
Surrounded by Dooley, McDonough and her classmates, Ann received not only a piece of paper, but also validation of her efforts.
Addressing the group, Ann thanked her teachers as tears of joy and pride spilled down her face. “Today I am proud as a mother. This is for my children. Thank you for believing in me,” she said.
She also challenged her classmates to make use of their time and to finish the GED process because it provides hope.
Ann then passed her diploma around the class for everyone to see and touch. After the diploma reached everyone, the class quickly went back to work, preparing for the GED exam and a future outside the Troy-based facility.
