Ceremony honors GED graduates

Gilbert Norris is shown giving the Keynote Address during the Commencement Ceremony

Out of all the graduation speeches being told all across the country this year, you’ll not find any better or more inspiring speech than the one given in Chauncey on Friday, June 5 by a 51-year-old ninth-grade drop-out.

The speech was by Gilbert Norris, and it was presented at a special commencement ceremony for GED graduates for the year from Athens County.

Norris is one of more than 80 people in Athens County who earned their GEDs during the academic year. Although GED students can take their tests and earn their degrees at different times of the year, all of the graduates for the academic year are invited to a special ceremony in Chauncey each spring where they are honored for their achievements.

Norris explained in his speech that his father did not know how to read or write, but he knew that education was important for his children.

“He pushed me to learn a trade,” Norris said. Gilbert learned to operate heavy equipment for earth moving and construction projects, and dropped out of school in the ninth grade.

“I didn’t need an education to be a heavy equipment operator,” Norris said, adding that he also needed to work at a young age. He was able to do his job well over the years and he rose to the position of supervisor.

He often had to “fake” his way through different projects, though, because he did not have an education. Norris could read all of the plans and diagrams for his construction work projects, but had problems comprehending and retaining the information from the plans. He had different ways of working around this problem so that no would know, such as having lower-ranked employees look over the plans first and listening to their thoughts on the projects.

He was always able to get around his lack of an education and do his work effectively, until a new training program was required for supervisors and he needed to have either a GED or high school diploma to begin the training program.

“It came down to I had to produce this to keep my job,” Norris said about the GED. Norris lives in Canton, but was working on a construction project in Athens County when he found he needed to earn his GED.  He was staying at the Holiday Inn in Athens at the time, and asked the night clerk if he knew of any GED programs in the area. The clerk recommended The Work Station, and although Norris was nervous about starting such as program at his age, he decided it was his only choice.

“I had to make a move,” Norris said. He visited The Work Station and found that the people there were very friendly and eager to help. He then signed up for the GED program, and he did very well in it. He did so well, in fact, that he was asked to give the speech at the commencement ceremony.

His speech touched everyone in attendance, but it is even more remarkable when you realize that six weeks before he gave the speech, Norris was suffering from stroke-like symptoms and did not know where he was or who his family members were.

He recovered quickly, though, and was able to proudly walk up to receive his degree and give his speech.

Earning his degree meant more than just receiving a piece of paper or keeping his job. It changed his life is numerous ways.

“It’s like turning a light on,” Norris said about his new education. He understands things much better at his work now and his education helps him in all aspects of his life.

“You have to have an education,” Norris said. He added that he feels blessed to have been able to receive his GED, and he thanked God and everyone at The Work Station for the assistance.

Several other graduates also shared their stories before the ceremony and talked about how important the GED is to them.

Chancie Thompson, 40, of Chesterhill, said the GED will help him with his work.

 “I think it will help me get a better job,” Thompson said. He dropped out of school when he was in the 11th grade so that he could hold down a full-time job, and he has worked for 19 years now in the logging industry.  By earning his GED, he is now eligible for other types of work in logging, he added.

“It will be good for my kids, too,” Thompson added. His children are 11, 17 and 20, and he wants to be a good example for them and show them how important an education is.

Bradley Spencer, 22, of Murray City, said that having his GED will help him to get a better job, too. His parents have also been pushing for him to earn his GED, and he wanted to make them proud.

“It was easy,” Spencer said about the GED program at The Work Station. He hopes now to attend Hocking College and earn a degree in culinary arts.

Zach Hughes, 18, of Athens, would have been one class short of graduating from high school, so he chose instead to earn his GED this year.  He liked the GED program at The Work Station and said that everyone was very nice to him.

He also is planning to attend Hocking College in the fall. Hughes’ family members were with him at the ceremony, and talked afterward about how proud they were of him.

Tabatha Button, 25, of New Marshfield, said her family members have been encouraging her to get her GED for several years now.

“Everybody was pushing me to go back to school,” Button said. She was nervous about starting the GED program, but said that the instructors made it easy.

Now that she has her GED, the mother of four is planning to attend Tri-County Adult Career Center and study medical billing/coding.

“I love numbers,” she said, adding that she is excited about her future career opportunities.

For more information on the GED program at The Work Station, call 797-1405.

Chancie Thompson (left) and Bradley Spencer (right) are shown while waiting for the ceremony to begin.

In the photo on the left, Zach Hughes (left) is shown receiving his degree from GED instructor Scott Hatfield. The photo on the right shows members of the Back Porch Swing Band performing at the reception after the ceremony.

In the photo on the left, graduate Tabatha Button is shown with her daughter after the ceremony, and in the photo on the right gradaute Gibert Norris is shown with his wife, Ella, also after the ceremony.