Shaneque needed extra support to graduate from high school. Unfortunately, she did not receive the level of support she needed when she was a teenager, which led her to withdraw from high school. As an adult, she tried a GED program and a paid online program, but nothing worked quite right for her. She didn’t
Brittney always wanted to get her high school diploma, but an unexpected pregnancy put her graduation plans on pause. “I got pregnant at 16 and just didn’t want to go to school pregnant and have the other kids talk about me,” Brittney said. “I really had no choice but to drop out.” Over the next
At age 20, Elizabeth withdrew from her online high school program. She’d gotten married, had other priorities, and didn’t really feel like her education was going anywhere. She worked a variety of “dead-end” jobs over the next 14 years, but her experience as a security guard for a hospital psychiatric ward inspired her to finish
Amanda needed support to graduate from high school. It took more than 20 years, but she finally got the support she needed to earn her diploma. “I dropped out my senior year, which was back in 1998, and I just couldn’t understand the teachers,” Amanda said. “They didn’t want to understand me. … I didn’t
Oftentimes, there are circumstances outside of your control. Zoë moved in with her grandmother during her senior year of high school but was unable to finish high school in her grandmother’s school district. She was stuck. At 20 years old, Zoë was able to finish high school online and enroll in an associate degree program
Christina grew up in and out of the foster care system. When she turned 18 during her junior year of high school, she could no longer stay with her foster family and ended up being homeless. She no longer had a physical address and, therefore, could not attend school. “I’m sure there was some sort
Matthew is the first to admit that he struggled to stay motivated when he was attending school. Combined with a heavy course load, he just couldn’t keep himself interested. One of his teachers recommended he look into Graduation Alliance to help him finish out his senior year. And now, he’s a high school graduate! “The
For Jaina, getting her high school diploma was an act of self-love. “I allowed things to happen to me because I didn’t believe I was good enough, was worthy, or mattered,” Jaina said. “The older I got, the more I started believing in myself, trying to love myself, and telling myself that I mattered. Getting
The first graduate of the Indiana Workforce Diploma program didn’t know she was a trailblazer. Jamie had enrolled in the free, accredited, online program after learning that a high school credential she’d earned a long time ago wasn’t from an accredited school. “It was a shock, for sure, and a real setback,” she said. But
Billy moved a lot during her high school years. By her senior year, she’d been to four different high schools. Keeping up with coursework was difficult when she changed schools so often. Her cancer diagnosis made it feel impossible. “I was doing coursework packets in various places — from hospital beds and many, many different