Moraine Park Technical College held its 27th annual GED/HSED graduation ceremony on May 30. For the 2018-19 school year, 126 students received their General Education Development (GED) or High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) certificates.

Rebecca Carreon of Fond du Lac, Natasha Peters of Ripon, Sandra Pfund of Slinger, and Betty Zimdars of West Bend served as student speakers.

Carreon and Peters, sisters and twins, spoke together on the struggles of life and how important it was to both of them to complete the journey together.

“I tried multiple times to finish my HSED on my own but never followed through with it because I never thought I could do it,” Peters said. “The support of family, friends, the teachers at the Student Success Center, and my sister gave me the courage and push I needed to finish.”

Both Carreon and Peters plan to continue their education at Moraine Park this fall, with an overall goal to earn their college degree.

“I have always wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse, and I finally feel like that isn’t just a dream anymore,” Carreon said. “Now I can make it a reality! We plan on starting school here at Moraine Park Technical College in the upcoming year.  After all the support we had to finish our HSED here, we can only imagine the support we will get once in our programs!”

Pfund shared her story of deciding to complete her high school diploma with the support of her friend and fellow GED student, Zimdars.

“We have maintained our friendship and motivated each other along the way,” Pfund said. “My success has been helped with a special friendship and someone to hold me accountable. Nothing is impossible, no matter what age you are. Our journey was not an easy one, but our friendship helped immensely.”

Pfund and Zimdars have decided to continue their educational journey together as Moraine Park college students.

Abby McGeehen of Berlin and Zimdars were each the recipients of $500 student scholarships.  These scholarships are awarded to GED/HSED graduates who are continuing their education at Moraine Park.

The GED/HSED students had to pass all four subject portions of the nationally recognized GED tests to receive their diploma. They also had to meet requirements in employability, digital literacy, health, and civics. Moraine Park’s GED/HSED instruction is available year-round and is one of the many services at the College that is offered for free to the community.

For more information about Moraine Park’s GED/HSED classes, visit morainepark.edu/GED.

View all of the photos from the GED/HSED graduation at https://www.flickr.com/gp/148240170@N03/Y00FC2.

Did you know how many different career opportunities there are in the field of Criminal Justice? Did you know that for the past 28 springs the MPTC Criminal Justice instructors have been hosting a Career Day to help students explore?

Students spend the day engaging in professional communications, networking, and participating in and observing mock interviews with community partners from: Fond du Lac, Washington, Dodge, Green Lake, and Winnebago County Sheriffs, Fond du Lac and Oakfield Police, State of WI Department of Corrections, and U.S. Probation. Criminal Justice Instructor Joan Barfield said, “The many available jobs and career opportunities in this high demand law, public safety, and security field can be confusing! This day is great with experiential learning for our students to get a clearer picture of all their choices so they can imagine success!”

Check out the Criminal Justice Associate Degree!