Events
High School Equivalency Graduates Celebrate Success
RALEIGH, N.C. (May 7, 2018) - Students of all ages who never completed high school, turned their tassels tonight in front of joyful friends and family. Wake Technical Community College held its spring graduation ceremony at the Southern Wake Campus for students of the High School Equivalency Preparation (HSEP) and Adult High School (AHS) programs.
The ceremony honored 61 HSEP graduates and 28 who earned AHS diplomas (for students who need eight or fewer credits to graduate).
Daneisha Vasquez was one of the student speakers who shared their stories. Vasquez dropped out of high school to care for her child, before finding Wake Tech’s AHS program. “I didn’t have the support I needed at the time to finish high school,” she explained. “But it’s never too late to get your education. No matter what age, not matter how hard, it is possible!” Vasquez plans to continue her studies and earn an associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education.
Anthony Caison, Vice President of Wake Tech’s Workforce Continuing Education division, acknowledged the struggles these students have faced by sharing a famous quote. “Just remember, tough times don’t last. Tough people do.”
Tonight’s ceremony was also the last graduation that Wake Tech President Dr. Stephen C. Scott would preside over. After a surprise video celebrating Dr. Scott’s years of service, all graduates held up signs reading “Thank you, Dr. Scott!”
Wake Tech has more HSEP and AHS graduates than any community college in North Carolina. Among the 61 HSEP students are 32 graduates of the federal HEP program for seasonal and migrant farmworkers, which is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Wake Tech’s Career and College Readiness program is based at the college’s Beltline Education Center, at 3200 Bush Street in Raleigh. Learn more at ccr.waketech.edu.
