San Jacinto College provides GED testing services

San Jacinto College recently hosted a graduation ceremony for students who earned their General Education Development (GED) certificates.

All San Jacinto College campuses administer the five required GED tests. A total of 469 people recently earned GED certificates after taking GED tests at San Jacinto College. Approximately 50 of the GED graduates, along with friends and relatives, attended the graduation ceremony held recently at San Jacinto College South.

“I can only imagine that it was difficult for you to first admit that the regular high school campus may not have been suitable for you,” keynote speaker Jo Anna Delgado told the GED graduates at the ceremony. “So enrolling in a GED was the best decision you could have made. Or perhaps you have returned back to school after being out for some time. Remember that education will open doors for you. If you are headed to the workforce, be the best reliable, dependable and trustworthy employee you can be. If you are headed to the noble profession of parenthood, be the best role model you can be.”

Delgado, who serves as a Harris County Pct. 2 justice of the peace, read from a recent report that stated a student drops out of an American high school every 26 seconds and that the number of high school students who fail to graduate is increasing.

“These are alarming statistics, and I can only say that I am so proud that every one of you has proven that you have what it takes to be successful,” she commented. “Are you feeling lucky? Luck has nothing to do with it. Your perseverance, your determination, and your desire have brought you to this point in your life.”

Ron Hopkins, San Jacinto College North’s coordinator of assessment services, and the GED chief examiner for the San Jacinto College District, concluded the ceremony with a short story about an orphaned eagle that was raised by a group of chickens. “Sometimes, that eagle would look up and notice an eagle soaring in the sky,’ Hopkins remarked. “The little eagle would feel a stirring and a desire to soar high up in the sky like other eagles. But all the chickens kept telling the eagle that he was a chicken and he just could not soar way up in the sky like an eagle. So, unfortunately that eagle never did fly high like other eagles, even though he had the ability. In conclusion, I urge you GED graduates to not be chicken, but be like an eagle.”

In 2001, the GED exam was overhauled to bring it more in line with the format and subject matter of current high school curriculums. Since then, many area students have passed, but there was no local ceremony to honor them. In 2004, San Jacinto College began to host a ceremony for some GED graduates. The recent commencement was the third such ceremony for GED graduates from all three San Jacinto College campuses.

For more information about GED testing at San Jacinto College North, contact Hopkins at 281-458-4050 extension 2347, or by e-mail at Ronald.Hopkins@sjcd.edu.

For more information about GED testing at the Central campus, contact Carita Hayes at 281-476-1501 extension 2025, or by e-mail at Carita.Hayes@sjcd.edu.

For more information about GED testing at the South campus, contact Jerry McIntyre at 281-484-1900 extension 3433, or by e-mail at Jerry.McIntyre@sjcd.edu.

San Jacinto College serves more than 24,500 students in over 140 degrees and certificates in university transfer and technical programs. The College also serves the community through workforce training. Students come with various goals and aspirations and we are committed to their success. San Jacinto College. Your Goals. Your College.

For more information about San Jacinto College, please call 281-998-6150 or visit www.sanjac.edu.