York Town News
York Adult and Community Education celebrates transitions
By Virginia L. Woodwell
York Adult and Community Education celebrated its 2006 graduates on Thursday, June 8, at the Parish House. Above, Elena Zajechowski beams after receiving a $250 scholarship toward her tuition at Granite State College, where she has been enrolled since January.
Photo by Virginia L. Woodwell
York Adult and Community Education Director Polly Stanwood read those words in the Parish Hall of the First Parish Church last Thursday night, June 8, from a list entitled "All I Really Know I Learned from Noah's Ark." She said that she hadn't realized, when she'd chosen those words, how appropriate they would be, given the record amounts of rainfall experienced lately.
But rain didn't dampen the spirits of all involved that night, and the full message delivered might be summarized as number six on the list, "Build your future on high ground."
The occasion was York Adult and Community Education's 2006 Graduation Ceremony. Honored were two sets of adult students, nine who'd completed all the requirements for the high-school equivalency diploma known as the GED, for general educational development, and 11 who had completed all the requirements to become certified nursing assistants.
Also singled out for honors was World War II veteran and York resident Coleman Smith, whose high school education had been cut short by his military service. Smith, who was unable to be present for the presentation, was granted a diploma in recognition of both life achievements and service to his country. He had been a member of York High School's Class of 1942.
The 2006 GED graduates were Taylor Barringer, Jacob Gustavsen, Matthew Lane Jenna McTaggart, Garrett Moore, Dan Neary, Dan Perichino, Shelley Young and Taylor Young.
The CNA graduates were Carol Amato, Kathleen Brennan, Kimberly Clifford, Connie Combs, Jamie Delyea, Jacinda Ellis, Kim Foley, Jennifer Germana, Jessica Hicks, Cathy Polich and Jenai Marie Sullivan.
McTaggart was cited as recipient of the York County Community College Scholarship.
The World War II veteran Elena Zajechowski, a student in an innovative program designed to ease adult students' passage into college or other advanced study, was presented with a $250 scholarship to be spent at Granite State College, where she has been enrolled since January.
Zajechowski's award, the York Adult Education Scholarship, was a first. The money backing it came from small donations made by the students, Stanwood said.
"I feel privileged to work with and see them achieve their goals. It's everybody working together, including the community," Stanwood said of the students. "It's very heartening."
That was a theme echoed in a brief keynote address delivered by Larry Duzynski.
Duzynski is now a surgical instrumentation technician at York Hospital, but, some years back, he'd been a high school dropout, he reported, and he was frank in admitting what that had meant to him.
"For those of you in the GED program," he said, "at some time, for various reasons, you decided to leave school. Perhaps, as was the case with me, you may not have disliked school, or had no interest, but found school really difficult … I left the Boston public school system. I was 18 years old, confused, depressed and not going anywhere."
But Duzynski soon realized, he said, how important education was to his future.
"There were times when I felt like I did not care about the contents of the course; I just wanted to get it over with," he said. "And my history with learning had been very stressful. Despite all of this, I understood how important getting my GED was. And I didn't give up."
Like Zajechowski, Duzynski is now enrolled in York Adult and Community Education's program for easing the transition to post-secondary-school education, and he's planning on college as a next step.
With the success of his GED behind him and a job before him, Duzynski said, "I discovered two important things, and so will you. The first is when you go out in the workforce you will find a field or skill that you like, and are good at, and will want to advance in. It's OK if you do not find this in your first job or career. The second thing you will learn is that education will have to be a continuing event in your life."
