FRACKVILLE - On average, there are about "95 to 100" General Education Development graduates at Schuylkill Technology Center, Frackville, according to Kim Sutter, coordinator of Lifelong Learning Center, Schuylkill Mall.
But in the past two years, there have been a few more GED graduates at STC-North, and program changes the state implemented on Jan. 1 was the reason why, Sutter said Thursday during commencement ceremonies at 101 Technology Drive, Frackville.
"It's because they changed the test, definitely. The government put out a lot of publicity in a two-year campaign and we saw an increase in numbers. This past fall these procrastinators were coming out of the woodwork," Sutter said Wednesday.
She was one of the speakers at the GED Commencement Ceremony for the STC-North Graduating Class of 2014. More than 250 people came out to see 47 of this year's 108 graduates don maroon caps and gowns and turn their golden-yellow tassels.
"As of January 1, all GED tests are offered via a computer-based format, which is a change from the paper-based format in prior years. Accommodations will be made for those who cannot test via a computer. In addition, the new GED 2014 replaced the GED 2002 test, which reduced the number of modules from five to four," Tim Eller, press secretary for the state Department of Education, Harrisburg, said Thursday.
The change made some people nervous, Sutter said.
"We were told the new test was more challenging. It was all computer-based. So they wanted to make sure they completed the old test before it disappeared," Sutter said.
Sutter provided the following statistics on GED graduates for the past five years. In the 2009-10 school year, there were 86 graduates. In the 2010-11 school year, there were 78. In the 2011-12 school year, there were 93 graduates. In the 2012-13 school year, there were 117. This year, there are 108, Sutter said.
Among the GED graduates who turned their tassels Thursday was Jermaine Barlow, 22, of Schuylkill Haven.
He said he was unable to complete his junior year at Florence Memorial High School in Burlington Township, New Jersey.
"I had family issues, and no place to live," Barlow said.
He moved to Schuylkill Haven in summer 2011.
"I decided to get my GED because I really wanted to go to college. This is the first step to get there. I'm going there in August," Barlow said.
He's planning to continue his education at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster. His family includes his wife, Caitlin Crawford, and their son, Jordan, 15 months.
According to Sutter, three students earned "merit awards," certificates recognizing quality work: Nancy Neifert, Bryan Noll and Stephanie Foose.
The commencement speaker, Sharon Angelo, director at PA Career link, Pottsville, asked the class to be generous to the people who have supported them: "I'm going to ask you to do something, pay it forward. There have been people in your life, I'm sure, that helped support you while you were going through this process to get your GED. Maybe they baby-sat your children. Maybe they drove you to class. Maybe it was a teacher who spent a little extra time with you, or a tutor. Pay it forward. Find something that you're passionate about, whether it's with your family, your friends, your church, your community, an organization, and give back."
She complemented her request with a quote from Maya Angelou, the noted author and poet who died May 28: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
"Take that feeling you have tonight, that joy, that happiness that you have and spread it around. Make people feel as good as you do," Angelo said.