RUFFIN BECOMES THE NEXT GED® SUCCESS STORY
Jerry Ruffin is the next GED® success story!! Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he moved to Brunswick County during his teenage years. He has a younger brother with an illness that often caused him to miss school. He took classes through each grade but eventually had so many absences that he could not return to school.
 Ruffin next decided he would join the United States Marines but there he met with another barrier. He would not be accepted without a high school diploma or its equivalent (the GED®). When he learned this, he felt his whole life might be down the drain, but, then he met Kimberly Easter, of the Southside Virginia Community College/WIA Out-Of-School Youth Program. She talked to him about the possibilities of working towards his GED®, encouraging him to give it a try.
Ruffin notes that he always was a good student and caught on easily so getting his GED® was not too difficult. He plans to start classes in Criminal Justice at SVCC during the Spring 2009 semester. This way, he will be able to enter the Marines with a GED and 15 college credit hours.
“I was proud to get that certificate for my wall,” he said. “I plan to encourage my brother to stay in school until he finishes and I am very glad I was able to turn my life around before it was too late.”
There is no better week to become the next GED® Success Story than during Commonwealth of Virginia’s celebration of GED® Week, October 13 through 17, 2008. The celebration will also feature a specially designated statewide GED® Day on Wednesday, October 15, 2008.
Many agencies throughout the state are participating in this celebration including local community colleges, Virginia Workforce Council, One-Stops, Workforce Investment Boards, regional literacy groups and others. The celebration will focus on the importance of Virginia’s workforce age adults who did not graduate from high school, successfully obtaining their GED®.
Statistics show that a GED® graduate earns an average of $23,300, per year, 62% or $8,900 more than someone with no high school diploma. GED® grads require fewer social services than those with no high school diploma; these services include welfare benefits, unemployment compensation, medical costs, and institutionalization.
As part of the celebration, area agencies are offering educational information about options to study for the test, offering the official practice test free of charge and training people to work with students in the area of literacy.
Free Official Practice Test of the GED® is being offered throughout Southside Virginia. Anyone interested is encouraged to call this toll free number to get more information, 1-888-200-7549 or in Cumberland and Amelia, call 804.492-5446. This is a great way to save $35 and also determine how well you would do on the test and what areas need further study.
Maybe you can be the next GED® Success Story!!
More information on the Virginia GED program can be found here. And more information about the GED program at Southside Virginia Community College can be found here.
(c) 2008. Southside Virginia Community College. All rights reserved.
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