Jesus went to high school, but tough family situations led to reasons why he couldn’t complete his fourth year. Eventually, he felt like it was too late to catch up. 12 years later, he decided to get his GED to make himself and his family proud.
Jesus has a naturally motivated personality — combined with encouragement from his wife and the excitement of their baby girl about to be born, he knew he could earn his GED credential.
His employer, Brinker, offered the GEDWorks program which allowed Jesus to prep for and take the test at no cost to him.
Jesus worked on his GED for nearly a year. It was a long journey but he stuck with it. Juggling three jobs was challenging! Already time was tight but finding time to study felt impossible on some days. His wife often reminded Jesus to study, even just a little bit at a time, to keep up the momentum.
The GEDWorks program helped Jesus stay focused and be sure he was spending his limited time on exactly what he needed to learn to pass the test. His advisor, Brenda, recommended ways to study and helped him stay on track. One tool Jesus really liked was FastForward. He also learned quickly with videos on YouTube.
Taking each subject test was hard, especially when it wasn’t possible to pass on the first try. Since English isn’t his first language, he got stuck on Reasoning Through Language Arts. Math and Science went smoothly, but Social Studies was tough.
Jesus shared advice for fellow GED students to stay resilient and keep the goal in sight, no matter how hard things get. Jesus also joined the GEDWorks Facebook group for students and grads. It was great to see other people posting photos and sharing their excitement about passing the test. Seeing others succeed reminded Jesus that it was doable. And he did it!
He’s relieved to know that with his high school equivalency diploma, he can qualify for higher paying jobs and have more time back to relax and spend with family. There’s a promotion coming up for Jesus. After that, college too. He’s ready to take on the world!