By Cheryl
Reidenouer, Career Navigator
Holly Hunter was one of the student speakers at the HSE May
2015 Graduation Ceremony. Holly told
her fellow graduates that “we got here . . . finally”. She said her fear of succeeding, fear of
failing, fear of what if I can’t do this and fear of what if it never goes
anywhere kept her from getting her High School Equivalency Diploma in the past.
In September, Holly’s father-in-law
passed away. He was a very important
person in Holly’s life, and she promised him she would do it this time. She said this is for him, her four children,
her husband, and her grandmother. Holly
said
hope
for a better future is what brought us here.
She ended her inspirational speech by telling the other graduates,
“Let’s do this, let’s graduate!
Holly said she ran away from home in January of her junior
year of high school. She said she was basically staying in a park and living
out of her car. She became ill because
of malnutrition and improper care. She
developed bacteria in her throat that causes infections. It was first thought
she had mumps in her throat. Eventually she ended up staying with her aunt and
uncle and sometimes friends. She
eventually dropped out of high school at the beginning of her senior year as
she was unable to keep up with school work. Holly did have an IEP for extra help as she
had been determined to have a reading disability. Her mother stopped special services for Holly
at the end of her junior year. In April
of her of her junior year her aunt helped her through the process of becoming
an emancipated minor. Holly eventually
met her husband and they married when she was 18 years old. She became a stay-at-home mom, eventually
becoming a home day care provider for children of other family members. Over the years she had jobs with a cleaning
company, gas stations, and eventually AllSteel where she worked for 4 years. She quit working there to care for her
father-in-law who had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
After lots of hard work and many hours of study and
preparation, Holly earned her High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) on April
24, 2015. She began attending Muscatine
Community College in August 2015. She is
now studying Business Management with an emphasis in Accounting. Holly said she and her husband hope to
eventually start their own business: an Arcade and Party Center where customers
can hold birthday parties and other life events.
The Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation and the
Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) administered by Region 9 IowaWORKS are
helping to cover Holly’s college tuition costs.
As a HSE program completer, EICC awarded her a voucher for 3 credit
hours. Holly’s hope for a better future
has brought her far. We wish her the
best and many successes in the future.
Students can now begin applying for MCC Foundation
scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Not having enough materials/resources is a common complaint among teachers. I love following how a young teacher in rural Oklahoma, Sarah Hagan, is finding a way to thrive without using textbooks. Back in March NPR did a feature story about Sarah titled " The Teacher Who Believes Math = Love." 
Holly Hunter was one of the student speakers at the HSE May
2015 Graduation Ceremony. Holly told
her fellow graduates that “we got here . . . finally”. She said her fear of succeeding, fear of
failing, fear of what if I can’t do this and fear of what if it never goes
anywhere kept her from getting her High School Equivalency Diploma in the past.
In September, Holly’s father-in-law
passed away. He was a very important
person in Holly’s life, and she promised him she would do it this time. She said this is for him, her four children,
her husband, and her grandmother. Holly
said hope
for a better future is what brought us here.
She ended her inspirational speech by telling the other graduates,
“Let’s do this, let’s graduate!
While I have done similar projects to this one, on a more limited scale, it's nice to see HiSET do some of the heavy lifting. Below you will find a new resource from HiSET copied from their website.
