Most of us take a high school diploma for granted. It’s a way station between childhood and adulthood – a first step toward getting a job, learning a trade or going on to higher education.
For most, going through high school is a given. Attend elementary and intermediate schools and then move on to the school for “the big kids.” It isn’t always that way. There are many family and personal situations that stand between attendance and finishing high school.Sometimes it takes adult, real-life experiences to convince an individual that a high school diploma is a necessity in an age where even college graduates must continue to learn if they want to provide themselves and their families the best possible life.
Tonight, the Maui Community School for Adults holds its 40th commencement. More than 195 students will receive high school diplomas through the General Education Development test and the Competency Based High School Diploma Program.
Those 195 students gathering with family and friends at Baldwin High School Auditorium have overcome any number of problems to realize an achievement that will help pave the way to a better life. The first hurdle was recognizing the need to go back to school.
Tonight’s graduates went through programs offered by the state Department of Education’s Maui Community School for Adults, Hui Malama Learning Center, Hawaii Job Corps, Maui First-to-Work, state Department of Human Services, Maui Youth and Family Services and the Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center.
Each of the graduates should be proud. Who knows just what these graduates might accomplish on the job or with additional training or even in college? Each has now equipped himself or herself to be a more productive member of the community. Future employers should look at these graduates with respect. Someone who has taken the hard road to a goal is someone who can take on a job and do it with dedication. They accomplished a goal that was not easy or even expected.
Congratulations to one and all.
