Ursala’s Story

Ursala had few of the advantages of family support, financial assistance, and academic excellence that eased the way for Sarah. In 1970, she left high school during her junior year due to an unexpected pregnancy. Six months after the birth of her son, she separated from his father. In 1975, she moved to rural Pennsylvania and found work in a factory. Her low self-esteem led to depression and then to substance abuse. She was arrested and given probation along with counseling and drug and alcohol treatment. In the fall of 1991, Ursala reluctantly entered a tutoring program. She was reading at a 5th grade level and feared failure because of previous unsuccessful GED testing. As her tutoring progressed and she gained confidence, she worked fiercely to reach her goal. In 1993, at the age of 40, she passed the GED, enrolled in the local university, maintained her factory job and married. Ever since then, she has been going to school part time. She explains:

I’ve only been able to go part-time. I would take a lay off from work and I would go to a couple of classes. If I go full-time, I won’t get any money from my employment. So it’s been real financially difficult. However, about last year at this time, I entered in for a scholarship (it was the first time I ever tried that), and, of course, the first thing you think of is: ‘No way am I going to get this.’ But when I started making out the stories and doing the paperwork and when I put that letter in the mail, I knew in my heart I was going to win and I did. It was only for $500; however, $500, my goodness, could pay for my books and a little bit of the tuition...

Right now, I’m like: ‘well, when’s the money going to come in so I can go back to school.’ Every little bit helps. I don’t think I’m going to give up. It’s probably going to take me another five years to get my BS. You know, that’s okay because I work at the plant in town and I’ve been there 24 years; so in 8 years I get to retire. So what I’m doing is I’m educating myself so when I do retire, I would still have a life. It’s like I’m going to start my whole working life over again. I’m going to be doing something I enjoy doing.

Conflicting Pressures

Powerful forces war against each other for control of the participant’s world: health, emplo yment, family and most of all, money. These multiple challenges prevalent in Sarah and Ursala’s stories are echoed by other adults engaged in higher education. An exploration of this interlocking web of obstacles reveals their tensile strength and explains why so few GED graduates are able to conquer them.

Health

The one obstacle that does not yield to determination is health. Fran, Irene, Darcy and John experienced health problems. Fran, who taught herself English after emigrating from Romania, entered ESL classes at a community college in 1996. After passing her GED test at the age of 38, she was admitted to the college carrying a full student load. She maintained a 3.9 GPA until a motorcycle accident left her with severe physical problems that did not permit her to continue her studies.

Irene, a single mother who suffered an employment-related disability, was referred to a literacy center by OVR. She passed the GED at the age of 35 and began working for the center as a member of the clerical staff and a volunteer tutor. Irene then enrolled in a community college and in 1997received an associate degree. One year later, she registered at the university with the intent of becoming a Special Education teacher. She explains: “I applied and was accepted...a year ago. I had to withdraw because of physical problems with a knee injury, for which I got a medically excused absence. I was getting A’s and B’s in all my courses and I will be going back.”