‘Dreams Will Come True’

By MARTIN SALAZAR Journal Staff Writer

It took Julie Moran several tries over 13 years to get her GED.

But the 31-year-old Central New Mexico Community College student stuck with it and eventually passed the test.

"I felt like I won the lottery," she said.

Moran was one of 1,246 CNM students who earned a general equivalency diploma during the last academic year.

About 700 friends and family members packed Kiva Auditorium on Saturday to watch 200 proud GED recipients walk across the stage.

Folks carried flowers, balloons and babies into the decorated auditorium to view the ceremony, which began about 10 a.m. with the Albuquerque Concert Band playing "Pomp and Circumstance."

Moran, the featured commencement speaker, fought back tears as she described her feelings after learning she had passed the GED test in October after numerous tries.

"I remember reading the first four words in the letter: Congratulations, you have passed," said Moran, who has battled severe sleep disorders her whole life.

"I started to cry and jump up and down with excitement."

She left her fellow graduates with a message of inspiration.

"Take every challenge head on," she said. "Accomplish this, and your dreams will come true."

CNM officials brag that they routinely turn out one of the largest graduating "high school" classes in the state.

Of the 1,246 CNM students who earned their GEDs during the 2006- 07 academic year, 667 of them were between 16 and 18, said Ann Lyn Hall, one of five "achievement coaches" who work with the college’s GED students.

The coaches work with students on everything from housing and child care to developing good study skills.

"I really do have the best job on campus," Hall said. "I get to work with some really amazing students." She said many have overcome challenges that could have been roadblocks to others.

"Generally, students who take the GED struggled in the high- school setting," Hall said. "The graduation ceremony allows them to celebrate their success. They may not have ever been successful in an educational setting before."

Moran said she was kicked out of Manzano High School during her senior year because of absences. She said that she lived outside the district and that getting to school wasn’t always easy.

"They said I could go to an alternative school," Moran said. "I was upset. I wanted a high school diploma."

She struggled for years to pass the GED test, and, in 2004, learned that a medical condition was affecting her ability to concentrate. She got treatment for obtrusive sleep apnea, a condition that made it hard for her to get a good night’s sleep, and for severe narcolepsy, a condition in which a person can fall asleep at any time.

Moran is now taking college courses at CNM and eventually hopes to earn a degree in speech and language pathology. She ultimately hopes to work as a speech pathologist at Albuquerque Public Schools.

"I am so excited just walking with the other graduates," Moran said. "It’s a dream come true."

Hazel Lieg, 48, said she, too, was excited about the graduation ceremony.

"I’ve always wanted to walk the line," said the mother of three.

Lieg said she dropped out of West Mesa High School because of fights at school and because her mother, the family’s sole breadwinner, needed help with Lieg’s siblings.

Lieg said she decided to pursue her GED for her own children and grandchildren. She said she didn’t feel right telling them they had to get their high school diplomas when she hadn’t.

She began taking classes at CNM in January 2006 and took the test in March. She found out she had passed last June, roughly a week after the graduation.

Lieg is now pursuing an associate degree in tourism.

"I hope to get a good-paying job," she said. "One of the casinos would be nice — somewhere in a hotel. I love to deal with people."

(c) 2007 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.