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Grandmom's quest for diploma wasn't easy
By DONNA WINCHESTER
© St. Petersburg Times, Jeanette DeYoung probably would have lived her whole life without a high school diploma if it weren't for her children and grandchildren -- and a bit of serendipity that landed her in the right place at the right time. Instead, she was one of 246 people honored at a countywide graduation ceremony Thursday night at Ruth Eckerd Hall. At 75, Mrs. DeYoung was the oldest graduate in a group of 178 adults who received either adult high school diplomas or state of Florida high school diplomas through the General Educational Development, or GED, program. Another 68 students graduated from Pinellas County high schools. Going back to school at 73 wasn't Mrs. DeYoung's idea. After she left school at the beginning of her senior year, she got a job with the telephone company in her native Chicago. She got married, began raising a family, and moved to St. Petersburg. It wasn't until her children were in school that she started to feel as if she had missed something by not graduating. "I regretted it then, but I thought I was getting too old to do it," she said. "Then I just kind of forgot about it." But a couple of years ago, Robin Goddard, in whose kindergarten class Mrs. DeYoung volunteers at Mount Vernon Elementary School, promoted the district's adult education class for people interested in taking the GED test. She needed 12 people to sign up, and could find only 10. "I just happened to be there," Mrs. DeYoung explained. "She said, "Why don't you try it?' " Mrs. DeYoung found it ironic that a kindergarten teacher at the school her children had attended 40 years ago would make such a suggestion. She found it surprising that her four children -- and seven grandchildren -- would be so adamant that she follow up on it. "I went back into the classroom," she said. "I didn't have a lot of trouble with English or social studies. The thing I did have trouble with was math." She credits her teacher, Julia Wood, with patience and persistence. Wood worked with Mrs. DeYoung on Monday and Wednesday nights from January through April 2000, guiding her through a mountain of pretests in English writing skills, social studies, science, literature and reading skills and mathematics, until she felt she was ready for the GED test. Mrs. DeYoung took the test the next month. She had been told that if she received a manila envelope in the mail, it would mean she had passed. A white envelope would mean she failed. In June, she got a white envelope; she had failed the math portion of the test. "When I didn't pass the math the first time I thought, "This is ridiculous. I don't need to do this.' Then I thought, "No, let's do this.' I was more determined than ever." She went back to school in September and retested in December. This time she got a manila envelope. "It just took a little more study and a little more work in the math department," she said, adding that her classmates were thrilled when she passed. "When you're in that class, everybody is rooting for the other guy," she said. "Every single one was glad when I passed the test." But her family's reaction was what was most important to her. They were so excited, she said, that there was no question about her attending the graduation ceremony. She has terse advice for anyone thinking about dropping out. "Don't do it. You'll regret it later, no question about it," she said. For those thinking about returning, her advice is equally to the point. "I'd say good for you, go for it," she said. "Don't let anybody ever tell you you're too old."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
