Gwinnett Tech Helps Hundreds Earn Their High School Equivalency Diploma By Our Town Staff On the heels of being named Georgia’s 2017 GED Testing Center of the Year, Gwinnett Technical College’s Adult Education department reached another milestone, graduating over 400 GED® students for the fall 2017 semester. Many have had to overcome great obstacles and hardships to get to this moment. Many have waited years to finally don the coveted cap and gown and walk across the commencement stage. Stephanie Rooks, Gwinnett Tech’s Dean of Adult Education, says, “That’s an encouraging number! Our department is committed to our students. We don’t want them to just get their GED®. We’re committed to providing students with the skills, resources, training, and guidance needed to advance into college or a career. We meet our students where they are and help them push forward with their lives and chart a new course for success.” Phil Klein, Dean of Health Sciences, gave the keynote address at the graduation. Klein shared words of encouragement to the graduates, saying, “There was likely a time in your life where a college education felt out of reach. Today, right now, that education is right in front of you. Grab that opportunity and embrace your future.” Raquel Mohammed, the GED® graduate speaker and Technical College System of Georgia Exceptional Adult Georgian in Literacy Education finalist, told her story of walking on to campus for the first time with her son. “Sitting with my son and his enrollment advisor as he enrolled in college, I learned of the GED® program at Gwinnett Tech,
and for the first time in thirty years, I became intrigued and excited.” Out of work and living on a single income, Raquel made the decision to enroll at Gwinnett Tech and earn her GED®. “The barriers and limitations we have faced have been removed. Education is a way out of poverty – poverty of mind, body, and well-being.” According to Rooks, many of the GED®-earners have already accepted that challenge. She reports, “Thirty-four students from this class have already enrolled at Gwinnett Tech to further their education. They’re just getting started.” The Adult Education department serves approximately 2,300 GED® prep students each year. The College offers six adult education centers in Gwinnett (including partnerships with Gwinnett County Sheriff ’s Department, Gwinnett County Public Schools, and Gwinnett Juvenile Court) and three centers in North Fulton, as well as four GED® Testing Centers. Orientation, assessments, and classes are offered to students for free. The cost to take the GED® test is just $40 per subject area. Residents of Georgia who earn a GED® may also be eligible for a $500 HOPE GED® grant, which can be used toward continuing postsecondary education in Georgia. More information at GwinnettTech.edu/ged
Crane’s Corner: Political Insights from Bill Crane By Bill Crane “Presidential Resolutions...We Can Hope.” “It is always during a passing state of mind that we make lasting resolutions,” Marcel Proust (18711922), French novelist, critic and essayist, considered by critics and other writers to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. I have found it personally helpful for at least a couple of decades now to use part of the last week of each calendar year to conduct a bit of personal and professional inventory, assessing what works and what doesn’t, where improvement is needed, and inevitably making a handful of resolutions which I generally stick to. But all said, my resolutions won’t matter much to my readers, much less the nation...so I thought I’d offer some resolution guidance to our President for 2018, towards making a few modest adjustments of his own, which might vastly improve his track record of achievements. First, I want to acknowledge that being new to Washington and politics, President Trump has had several successes, and I want to give high marks where he earned them. President Trump appointed a solid Constitutional conservative to the U.S. Supreme Court, and his administration is stacking the federal bench with younger newly appointed conservatives and Republicans. On the international front, Trump activated and enforced President Obama’s red line in the deserts of Syria, supported the Israel government’s desire to move their capital to Jerusalem, and began the wind-down and withdrawal for the United States from the Paris climate accords. The president and Congress significantly reduced corporate and personal income tax rates, and on the regulatory front, the Trump Administration has reversed or repealed more than 60 federal rules and regulations considered burdensome to industry and economic growth. To make the above list longer, I’m suggesting a handful of impactful resolutions, a few of which my mother, father, and others also suggested to me over the years – 1. Pick and choose your battles – Some of President Trump’s longest and choicest battles of this year were with senators in his own party. Hardly a day went by when the leader of the free world wasn’t picking a fight somewhere with someone. This dissipates energy and focus, and makes one appear small…not more of a strongman. It makes a person look like a bully. 2. PUT down the phone – I imagine most of us have drunk dialed or texted...at least once. The president, perhaps drunk with power, rants with his tweets most every day. Though he credits this “reach around” the media and ‘fake news crowd’ with his election victory, it is
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probably the largest single factor driving his approval rating down from 45 percent at the time of his swearing-in last January, to 35 percent now...the lowest of any modern president at this point in his administration. To get down to 35 percent, Gerald R. Ford pardoned Richard Nixon 3. Make and stick to your commitments – A short list of honored campaign promises has seen incumbent after incumbent re-elected. The president’s challenge is that his commitments and promises can change, with the season or even days of the week, making it hard to keep track of what he is committing to do. Where is the needle for example today on what we are going to do about the DACA kids? 4. Simply and credibly...look in a mirror – The president, I am told, has tremendous energy, charm (though I’ve not actually witnessed that), and abilities to persuade. Use those sales talents, close a few more deals. Stop crowing constantly that you are the brightest, smartest, most expert on EVERYTHING; it only makes your failures more spectacular and causes others to root for you to stumble. Try eating, on occasion, just the tiniest slice of humble pie. President Trump, of course, did not ask for my advice, nor is he likely to follow it. But he has said, time and again, “I’m here for you.” His electoral success is in part rooted in busting up the cabal of money, lobbyists, inefficiency, and corruption that exists in Washington, D.C. Behaving in a way that his school teachers and my mother would be proud of him isn’t a bad way to go. It won’t negate all the things he thinks brought him to the dance. He might even find a few new willing dance partners. We wish you well, Mr. President. But as you often say, it’s always best helping those who first help themselves. God speed, sir, and God bless America. Crane is the senior political analyst with WSB Radio and TV and owns the full-service communications consulting firm, CSI Crane. More information at www.CSICrane.com
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