Moultrie Tech & Tifton Housing Authority
Award First GED Graduate
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Recent Moultrie Technical College and Tifton Housing Authority GED program graduate Bryan Barfield, seated, was the first to receive a GED award from the one-year-old community partnership. Pictured, left to right, with Barfield are MTC Adult Education and Housing Authority program instructor Veronica Graydon, his mother Bobby, Tifton Housing Authority Resident Initiatives Manager Jadonna Johnson, and Tifton Housing Authority Executive Director Shaundra Clark. |
TIFTON, GA. One year after the birth of a partnership between Moultrie Technical College’s Adult Education program and the Tifton Housing Authority to assist its residents with obtaining GEDs, the venture has produced its first graduate.
Bryan Barfield, 25, began taking GED preparation classes in April 2008 after moving from Albany into the Tifton Housing Authority apartments with his mother in March. And on December 18, he plans to walk across the stage to receive his diploma with fellow GED graduates from MTC’s four-county service area at Moultrie Tech’s semi-annual commencement ceremony at Withers Auditorium in Moultrie.
Barfield says he didn’t finish high school because his stepfather became ill, and he and his mother became full-time caretakers. So he dropped out at age 15 and admits tending to his stepfather was “some kind of experience. I needed to stay home and make sure his needs were taken care of,” he said.
Barfield’s stepfather passed away in February 2008, prompting the family’s move to Tifton.
“I had been thinking about getting my GED, but staying home with him [his stepfather] made that hard to do.”
For Barfield, going back to school after ten years has been like “putting on an old pair of shoes…came as second nature,” he said.
What also came easy was the convenience of GED classes at the Housing Authority facility instead of making the drive to Moultrie Tech’s Tifton Campus where similar classes are offered.
The GED preparation program at the Tifton Housing Authority opened in November 2007 and has seen more than 20 students enroll over the year, according to MTC Adult Education instructor Veronica Graydon who teaches the classes. Although the program is geared first to residents of the Authority’s eleven facilities, the classes are open to others as space is available.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone in the Housing Authority…they really make it convenient,” added Graydon.
Shaundra Clark, executive director of the Tifton Housing Authority, said of the beginnings of the program, “We wanted to start it and went to Liz Carson Keith at Moultrie Tech” with the request.
“It was hectic at the beginning, but it really went smoothly later. Recruiting students was the hardest part due to the residents’ work schedules…one of my dreams is to have night classes,” said Jadonna Johnson, resident initiatives manager for the Tifton Housing Authority. Johnson plans activities and programs for the residents.
The Housing Authority bought the computers for classroom and provided the space. It also provides snacks for the students and transportation to Moultrie Tech Tifton Campus events.
Classes are free and are offered Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
“We are proud of the Housing Authority students and their successes in this program. This is a great example of how agencies can pool their resources to achieve much more, and, of course, the students benefit. Our heartiest congratulations go out to Bryan on his achievement and our heartfelt thanks go to a great teacher, Mrs. Graydon,” said Keith, MTC’s executive director of adult education.
Barfield took the multiple sections of the GED examination during the first week of November and even passed the challenging writing portion. He also received a scholarship from the Retired Teachers of Tift County organization to cover the $95 GED testing fee.
“Bryan’s graduation makes it all worth it. We are proud of all of our participants,” added Clark.
Naming mathematics his favorite subject, Barfield has made an obvious impression among the faculty, staff and students at the Housing Authority program.
Graydon said of his work ethic, “Bryan worked through the breaks…he is the first to come and the last to leave. I have seen him blossom from a shy young man to an interacting young man. The students encourage each other and pat each other on the back. It’s like a family here,” she added.
His mother, Bobby Barfield, wholeheartedly agrees. “He has come out of his shell.”
Of his experience in the GED program, Barfield added, “It’s kinda shocking…it makes me proud that I have accomplished it in six months. It’s been a wonderful experience. I am so thankful for the Housing Authority and Mrs. Graydon. She is caring and thoughtful and takes plenty of time to make sure I understand my work.”
As an additional source of encouragement, his mother said, “A couple of times, he felt like giving up. I told him he would make it.”
So what does the future hold for Bryan Barfield? He admits to a love of drawing and computers. To that end he will apply for acceptance in Moultrie Tech’s Drafting Technology program for the College’s winter quarter beginning in early January. MTC Tifton Drafting Technology instructor Robert Hubbard has already taken him on a tour of the program classroom and hands-on laboratory.
When asked what he wanted to be doing in ten years, Barfield confidently said, “I want to be the president of my own company” in the field of drafting.
No matter where his career takes him, Bryan Barfield will always be remembered as the first graduate from the Moultrie Tech and Tifton Housing Authority Adult Education program.
For more information on the GED classes offered through Moultrie Tech and the Tifton Housing Authority, call 382-5434.
