Adult diploma program opens up possibilities for participants

Camille Burton, 44, said nothing is more important to her and her family than education.

Her daughter Samanthe, 27, is about to receive her master’s degree, and her second daughter Samiera, 22, will soon purchase her first home.

Burton wanted to make sure her children got everything she couldn’t, including a good education. But Burton has now received her high-school diploma through the Adult 22+ Diploma program.

Graduating high school “was definitely a must for me; I had to do it, and that was one of my life goals,” she said.

Now she’s applied to Youngstown State University, hoping to major in nutrition, pre-law or forensic science. A new world of possibilities opened up for her, which she said she owes to this new program.

The Ohio Department of Education last year approved the Mahoning County High School Bryn Mawr Avenue in Youngstown to host the state’s Adult 22+ Diploma program. The program, open to adults 22 years or older, allows people who haven’t received a general educational development credential or diploma to graduate.

Burton and many others are completing their education after a year of the program being open to them.

Jennifer Merritt, Mahoning County Educational Service Center director of alternative education, said the program has received 100 adult learners with roughly 30 graduates. She said the activity there speaks for itself.

The learners “see it as such a benefit, and it has renewed a little bit of their faith in their learning and their abilities,” she said.

Burton dropped out of school at 15 when a family situation caused her to leave home. She tried to return to finish school many times but couldn’t seem to finish her GED exam.

She has since raised three children and survived through various small jobs and running a couple of businesses. She now lives with her youngest son, Tristan, a 10-year-old in Youngstown

The mother of three said she first heard about the diploma program while looking through the local school websites for adult education programs. She wanted to gain her diploma through the adult program. Burton had tried many times to earn her GED but couldn’t get past the math and the structure of the exam.

She felt a renewed passion for the adult diploma program that she started in April.

Unlike the GED, where an applicant takes a large exam, this program provides adult learners the necessary courses and assessments needed to earn a diploma. Adults can learn and get help in person at the location, or online depending on their schedule.