PCC Celebration for High School Equivalency Graduates, June 1, 2023
Tucson, AZ – Pima Community College Adult Basic Education for College & Career will celebrate this year's High School Equivalency graduates on Thursday, June 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tucson Convention Center Leo Rich Theater.
The event will also be live streamed on the PCCTV YouTube channel for family, friends, fellow students, and community members to watch live. Join us to honor those who earned their Arizona High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma either by passing the GED® test or through one of the other AZ-approved HSE pathways.
- What: Pima Community College Adult Basic Education for College & Career High School Equivalency Graduation
- When: 6:30 p.m., Thursday, June 1
- Where: Tucson Convention Center Leo Rich Theater for graduates, guests and media. The event will also be live streamed on PCCTV YouTube.
- Details: HSE graduates will be available for interviews with media
Mayor Regina Romero will join graduates on stage at this year’s HSE Graduation to pass along her congratulations. Additionally, HSE graduates Rebecca Ursule and Elysia will share their stories of success, and how returning to education to earn a High School Equivalency diploma changed their lives.
HSE graduate Rebecca Ursule arrived in Tucson in September, 2022 after many years of living in a refugee camp. Due to many barriers, she was unable to attend high school and was encouraged to take her GED®. She was skeptical at first, but by this February, she had taken all of her tests and passed! Rebecca did not stop there. She immediately enrolled at Pima Community College to continue her education. “As a student, education has been a struggle,” Rebecca says. “In my community there were thousands of refugees but we only had a few teachers! So going to school and sitting in a class was a miracle!” Rebecca is currently majoring in Communication with the goal of pursuing a Master’s in International Relations and work in the field of refugees and forced displacement.
HSE graduate Elysia left school at a young age, and has faced instability and difficult life challenges ever since. She was angry at the obstacles that life threw her way, and often felt hopeless, and wanted to give up. But she didn’t. She returned to school through the Court Alternative Program of Education (CAPE), and thanks to the ongoing support of some of her juvenile detention officers, and the motivation and encouragement of her teachers, she realized that she could create a different future for herself. “I’m ready for change, I’m ready to define myself instead of having others define me. The GED® test represents possibility -- the possibility that you can achieve big accomplishments!”
About Adult Education at Pima
For more than 50 years, Pima’s Adult Basic Education for College and Career has played a critical role in promoting adult education in the community. Each year, it helps thousands of adult students who need to strengthen their basic literacy and math skills, improve their English, study for a High School Equivalency diploma, and prepare for college and career.
For more information about Adult Basic Education for College and Career classes, email adulted@pima.edu, call 520-206-7330 or visit pima.edu/adulted.
CONTACT:
Laurie Kierstead-Joseph,Assistant Vice Chancellor for Adult Basic Education for College & Career
kierstead@pima.edu / 520-206-6187
Wendy Scheder Black,
Director, College & Career Transitions and Partnerships,
Adult Basic Education for College & Career
wscheder@pima.edu / 520-206-6102