U.S. Representative Steve Womack spoke at the 39th Annual GED Commencement ceremony of the Fort Smith Adult Education Center on Monday, May 13, 2013 at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Stubblefield Center.  The ceremony drew over 1,000 attendees, and over 100 of the 350 GED graduates participated. Congratulations to the class of 2013!  

Great stories in the Times Record here and here

The latest Arkansas Adult Education Newsletter is here. Fort Smith student Christina Ly is featured on the cover!

Janice Hanlon, Arkansas GED Administrator™, welcomes Cindy Iglesia, Placement Coordinator, and Marcia Dye, Workplace Readiness Coordinator, representing the Fort Smith Adult Education Center, at the ceremony in Little Rock honoring the top 25 GED testers in 2012. Fort Smith's center had one of those award winners, but she was unable to attend the event at the Capitol. Arkansas had 6,544 students obtain their GED credentials in 2012.

Silvia Murcia is the Student of the Month for April.    She has been studying English at the Adult Education Center for one and a half years.   She tries her best in class every day.  She is enthusiastic and cheerful about learning English.  Silvia is a little shy, but she is eager and willing to practice speaking.  When she makes a mistake, she just keeps going.  She is friendly and helpful to her classmates, and it is a joy to have her in class.

Silvia came to the United States from El Salvador.  As a child, she was a serious student and made good grades.  However, like some other teenagers growing up in El Salvador, Silvia had to quit school in the 8^th grade to help support her family.  She started working when she was 13 years old making 50 colones a month (equivalent to $6.00) .  During that time, Silvia dreamed of returning to school, earning her diploma, and finding a good job.

When she was 19 years old, Silvia had the opportunity to come to the United States with other family members.  Two years later, she met and married her husband.  They now have a daughter.  Silvia’s future goal is to get her GED, so now she is studying hard to learn English.  Her husband and daughter give her constant support and encouragement.  Her hard work, positive attitude, and desire to learn will enable Silvia to accomplish her goals at the AEC and throughout her life. 

Congratulations Silvia!

Our student of the month for March is Ray Poindexter.  He worked for Whirlpool for 38 years, 28 days, and 2 hours.  When he finished his job, he had 3 choices.  The first was to sit at home and do nothing.  The second was to go to school, something he really didn’t want to do.  The third was to get a job.  He quickly found out that he needed a GED in order to get a job.  He decided he didn’t want to sit at home alone.  He came to the Adult Education Center with his wife and found a whole new world.  His ideas about school begin to change.  He is now a dedicated student whose main goal is to obtain his GED.

Ray has improved his skills so much that he now helps other students.  He has improved so much that he now threatens his son that he is going to help him with his homework. His kids and wife are extremely proud of him.  We at the Adult Education Center are also very proud of him.  Way to go Ray!