Success Stories

My Success Story

My name is Mary Hawley. I am the mother of four and grandmother of six children. I was employed at G.E. Security in Gladewater, Texas, for fifteen years until the plant closed in December of 2005. I thought about what I was going to do after the plant closed, so I decided to get my GED . I attended the Kilgore College Adult Education Program in Gladewater, Texas taught by Ms. Monika Kajstura. I started classes in January of 2006. I accomplished my goal and received my GED in November of 2006. With the encouraging support, dedicated teaching, and tireless help of Ms. Monika, I made it. I really did not see it, but she kept encouraging me and telling me that I could do it and I did. I never dreamed of going to college at my age, since I had been out of school for so many years, but I did and I am a student at Kilgore College. I am nervous, but I am determined to better myself. Being able to go to school makes me feel important. Because of the adult education program and Kilgore College, my life has significantly and even radically improved.

They have never said it, but my family is overwhelmed that I am in school. I have one daughter that attends Kilgore College and another daughter in the twelfth grade that will soon be in college. God has really blessed my family. Thanks to my husband for his dedication and for serving twenty years in the U.S. Army, who made it possible for us to go to school.

Mary is a GED recipient from Monika Kaistura’s class in Adult Education at Kilgore College in Gladewater.