By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Adults who didn’t finish high school are getting their diplomas through programs designed for second-chance learners, including a Pima Community College program.
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Arizona has the lowest graduation rates in the country, but some adults are going back to get their degrees. Sixty adults graduated with high school equivalency diplomas at a ceremony at the Tucson Convention Center.
When Benjamin Aron Martinez was 19 years old, he was shot.
“When I was young, I was the victim of a drive-by shooting, and that kind of just made me steer off track,” Martinez said.
Martinez didn’t finish high school and was in and out of prison.
“I was real ashamed of myself, I just couldn’t get a handle, get a grip on life,” he said.
Adult education offers second chances
“Not everybody’s early education experiences are positive. Or not everybody has the support they need to get all the way to the finish line the first time,” said Laurie Kierstead-Joseph, PCC Adult Basic Education vice chancellor.
The graduation rate in Arizona is 77 percent, the lowest in the country.
Every year, around 4,800 Arizona adults earn high school equivalency diplomas, including hundreds in Pima County.
Some, like Martinez, are Tucson natives. Others, like Mireya Escamilla, moved to Arizona from Mexico.
Escamilla worked as a babysitter and housekeeper, but something was missing.
“I felt lost because I was working with my hands and not my brain, my soul, myself,” Escamilla said.
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Escamilla gained English skills through the adult education program 28 years ago. She now helps others do the same as the Assistant Program Coordinator.
“Adult Basic Education is very important for the community because we are helping students fulfill their dreams,” she said.
Meanwhile, Martinez is now a full-time Pima student studying building and construction technology.
“I really wanted to do that, and I needed my GED or high school equivalency to go to college,” he said before giving his graduation speech.
You can learn more about the Adult Basic Education program HERE.
Isabela Lisco is a Report for America corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the Arizona Local News Foundation’s Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.
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