Dante didn’t have a support system when he was a teenager and felt like he was being forced out of high school. During his senior year, he dropped out. “I left high school because I didn’t have anybody watching over me like that, and it was kind of hard to do it by myself, so I dropped out.”

For over five years since dropping out of school, I struggled from job to job without a high school diploma. “Because I want a real job with something that is going to pay, I focused and worked hard to get a diploma.” These are Mary’s words when asked why she wanted to earn her high school diploma.

Some students can’t just finish school due to factors beyond their control. William was just 16 years old when he was diagnosed with lupus and became too ill to attend school. “I ended up dropping out of school,” William said. “So, over the years after that, I tried different programs, and they just didn’t work for me,” he concluded.

Oftentimes, there are circumstances outside of your control. Richard moved in with his grandmother during his senior year of high school but was unable to finish high school in his grandmother’s school district. He was stuck. At 20 years old, Richard was able to finish high school online and enroll in an associate degree program.

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 search other avenues to help him graduate and finish out his senior year. And now, he’s a high school graduate! “

I had every intention of graduating from high school. But just at 17 years of age I found out that I was pregnant for my boyfriend Michael. During my senior year, I dropped out of school because I gave birth to a premature child in November of 2021, and battled with difficult parenting.  I didn’t have anybody watching over my kid, and it was kind of hard to do it by myself. Later, I became determined to reenter school to secure my diploma, but it became so difficult to do it without any help.

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 high school and attain her diploma. “No matter the age you are, you can accomplish anything as long as you put your mind to it.”