Written by: PA CareerLink®’s Lynnette and Annette
Emanuel’s mother had heard about our GED Program and brought him to PA CareerLink®. Emanuel met with Rhonda Leskho, Out of School Youth Specialist, and she explained all about the program. “This was something I was interested in,” Emanuel stated there were a couple reasons why he wanted to join our GED Program, “First, I want to get my high school diploma and secondly, I want to increase my educational level.” Emanuel also stated, “My life before joining this program was consisting of staying home most of the time. All I basically did was sleep, play games, and do chores around the house.”
Emanuel faced several challenges upon entering the program. His CASAS scores showed that it would be a challenge for him to obtain his GED. He also faced attendance issues during his program participation. “I had trouble coming to class because of my sleep schedule. My teacher was always on me about my attendance.”
While in the program Emanuel took advantage of all the opportunities the program provided such as: obtaining his Green Clean Certification, completing all his Legacy tools, attending the YES Workshops and the Penn State Nutritional Workshops earning certificates from both. Emanuel has stated, “My main goal is to get my GED, but I have learned so much from all the workshops that I have attended. My favorite workshop was from Penn State because I learned how to cook pasta.”
Also, while in the program Emanuel’s academic levels improved greatly from the time he took his original CASAS tests. He was able to increase his Reading level by 3-grade levels and his math by 1-grade level. It took him 4 times for the CASAS Posttest to achieve a gain in math, but he never gave up!
Emanuel feels that the Equus staff helped him, “My educational level wasn’t where I wanted it to be, but they helped me raise it. I would especially like to thank the Equus staff for supporting me and helping me get through the program with no problems.”
Emanuel had absolutely no problem passing Science, Social Studies, and Math, but when it came to Language Arts he struggled. It took him 3 times to pass the GED Ready test, but as they say, the third time is the charm. Emanuel increased his score from 133 to 152! He worked hard and studied, which was evident in his scores. On 8/31/22 he entered the classroom, extremely nervous. After a few words of encouragement from Mrs. Ashley, he set off to take his final test. He had no problem passing the test and finally obtained his GED on that day!
Emanuel now would like to get a good job. He’s not sure if he wants to go to college, only time will tell. Emanuel has come so far in his academics and has proved to himself that he can do anything. His self-confidence has grown over the past four months. The future is there for the taking for Emanuel, and we are sure he will go far in life.
Are you interested in learning more about our GED Program? Click here for more information.
