Success Stories

Poster: success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you're doing, Pele
A group of students standing together in black graduation caps and gowns posing for the photo
Grant Roddy and Leslie Travis standing with David Tanner at a Tennessee Adult Education event.
A man smiling and waving while holding a pie. He is wearing a blue professional blazer.
A key with a tag that says Education is the key to success.

Student Stories

Build It Green-Chattanooga 

A group of men standing in front of a brick wall that's been painted. Each man is holding a certificate.

 These students are part of an IET in Chattanooga. They are holding certificates of achievement presented to them courtesy of our local State Representative Yusuf Hakeem. The students learn construction skills as part of a program called Build It Green. BIG, as we call it, is part of a larger non-profit organization in the Chattanooga area called Green Spaces. BIG focuses on helping younger inner-city students and provides hands on instruction dealing with the various aspects of the construction business. They also help these students find employment or move on to post-secondary. Our IET Adult Education instructor assists these students with contextualized mathematics as it pertains to construction skills. The certificate provided by Representative Hakeem was given to each of the nine students who successfully passed the final construction & math exam. Pictured are seven of the nine.

Henry never thought of attending class until his bunk mate began encouraging him. Certain that Henry could earn his HSE and so much more, his friend convinced him to give it a try. Henry worked hard and fought through some struggles on his education journey, but he never stopped working towards his goal and his teacher never gave up on him. He took 4 of 5 subjects on the HiSET exam, passing each, and earned his fifth passing score through the TABE assessment. He has now earned his high school equivalency diploma signed by our governor with national recognition for employment, enrollment into college and military service! Upon his release, he is looking forward to attending more classes to best equip himself to start a new life with new opportunities he may never have had before deciding to participate in the Southeast TN Adult Education program.

Henry Estill
Graduate from Rhea County Justice Center-February 2025

A man with a beard dressed in a graduation cap and gown
A man with a beard dressed in a graduation cap and gown

Henry Estill
Graduate from Rhea County Justice Center-February 2025

Henry never thought of attending class until his bunk mate began encouraging him. Certain that Henry could earn his HSE and so much more, his friend convinced him to give it a try. Henry worked hard and fought through some struggles on his education journey, but he never stopped working towards his goal and his teacher never gave up on him. He took 4 of 5 subjects on the HiSET exam, passing each, and earned his fifth passing score through the TABE assessment. He has now earned his high school equivalency diploma signed by our governor with national recognition for employment, enrollment into college and military service! Upon his release, he is looking forward to attending more classes to best equip himself to start a new life with new opportunities he may never have had before deciding to participate in the Southeast TN Adult Education program.

Liubliana Garcia

Graduate from Rhea County

A woman with dark hair who is dressed professionally and holding a certificate

 Liubliana entered the Rhea County Adult Education program as an English Language Learner in March, 2006. She attended over 500 hours of ESOL classes and entered adult education classes in October, 2014. She then continued attending classes regularly. She is the epitome of never giving up. Liubliana diligently worked her way to earning her HSE diploma in February, 2018. Her positive attitude and dedication toward her goal is an inspiration to all who set out to earn his/her diploma. Congratulations, Liubliana!

Heather attended Adult Education classes in Hamilton County. While attending, she helped support her family by working part-time. However, Heather felt "stuck in a job with no upward mobility." Her instructor, Regina Copeland has described Heather as positive, very bright, dedicated, hardworking and so much more! Heather went on to obtain her HSE diploma May, 2017. She explained how this diploma gave her the self-confidence to seek after better employment. Heather quickly earned her CNA certification and still continues to seek more for herself and her family. She says her children cannot use the excuse, "well, you never finished school, so why should we?" There is no better example you can set than that! Congratulations, Heather!

Heather Everett

Graduate from Hamilton County

A woman with dark hair who is dressed professionally and smiling
A woman with dark hair who is dressed professionally and smiling

Heather Everett

Graduate from Hamilton County

Heather attended Adult Education classes in Hamilton County. While attending, she helped support her family by working part-time. However, Heather felt "stuck in a job with no upward mobility." Her instructor, Regina Copeland has described Heather as positive, very bright, dedicated, hardworking and so much more! Heather went on to obtain her HSE diploma May, 2017. She explained how this diploma gave her the self-confidence to seek after better employment. Heather quickly earned her CNA certification and still continues to seek more for herself and her family. She says her children cannot use the excuse, "well, you never finished school, so why should we?" There is no better example you can set than that! Congratulations, Heather!

More Success Stories

Navigate with the icons below to connect with us on social media, where you can read more success stories and find important information.