2020 was a lost year for education for many students, but not for the 101 GED/HiSET graduates of the Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma Adult Education program.

2020 was a lost year for education for many students, but not for the 101 GED/HiSET graduates of the Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma Adult Education program. Among these graduates are young mothers living in Catholic Charities Transitional Living programs, a young woman who was forced to drop out of high school to watch her younger siblings, and refugees whose educations in their home countries weren’t accepted in the United States. While most of the graduates attend classes at our Tulsa campus, several came from our Muskogee and Stillwater Adult Education programs. All of these students have one thing in common: they each wanted to better their lives by graduating high school. About 50% of these students took their high school equivalency classes in Spanish. Catholic Charities celebrated these accomplishments with a graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 25th, at Bishop Kelley High School’s Auditorium in Tulsa. The program included a keynote address by Bishop David Konderla and a speech given by the class valedictorian, Jay Williams. “You are graduating today, but you are not finished seeking education. The wisest person among us is the one who knows how much they don’t know and who nurtures their curiosity to become a lifelong learner,” said  Bishop Konderla in his address in both English and Spanish. “Always ask yourself: What am I curious about?  What do I want to learn about next? And where can I learn more about it?” The 101 graduates included students from the 2019-2020 school year, who were not able to celebrate with a graduation ceremony due to the pandemic. We are so proud of all of our graduates, and we thank our many volunteer teachers and tutors for their dedication to our students. Together, we are Love Changing Lives.