Osman Amman, 31, had completed requirements for his education in his native Uganda but had difficulty getting school records sent to the United States.
Tracy Blazek, 38, dropped out of high school his junior year to take a full-time job. He thought working and making money was more important than finishing his education.
Each non-traditional student at Allen County Community College had personal reasons for not completing his high school requirements, but each one also had the same common goal — returning to school to complete requirements for a high school equivalency diploma.
AMMAN ENROLLED for his General Education Development diploma to begin a new life in a new country.
Amman met his wife Amanda when she was visiting friends in Uganda. The couple were introduced through a mutual friend, courted, married a little over a year ago and returned to the United States to live in Iola, her hometown.
English has been a barrier for Amman. Uganda was colonized by Great Britain, which influenced his English, as does a local Ugandan dialect.
“I just don’t understand all the meanings of the words here in America. I think I’m talking about one thing and find out I’m totally wrong,” he said.
When he began his college classes at ACCC in information technology he was asked to identify the different parts of a computer. He began to list the parts as he had learned them in Uganda, which were close — but not the same — as terms used in the United States.
“I was so frustrated. I know the parts of a computer, just not the names you have here,” he said.
He praised staff at the college for being helpful and patient, especially with his reading assignments.
“It didn’t matter to my instructors how long they had to work with me to understand your American words. They spent many hours helping me on my reading until I understood,” he said.
Amman takes his education seriously. He works the third shift at Russell Stover Candies — getting off work at 3:15 a.m. — and never missed classes which began at 8 a.m.
Amman hopes to one day work in aviation, either in the U.S. or Uganda.
BLAZEK WANTED to earn his GED to set a good example for his son, Colton, a sophomore at Iola High School.
Blazek didn’t want his son’s life to parallel his.
When Blazek was a sophomore he had a full-time job at a slaughterhouse in Dodge City. By his junior year he had been promoted to a red hat lead man in the hide department.
“I was 17 years old and making $18 an hour. I didn’t see how a high school diploma could improve my working situation,” Blazek said.
Blazek remained at his employment in Dodge City until 2007 when he found himself a divorced, single father. To make a fresh start for himself and his son, he moved to Iola to be near his brother, Lant.
A number of years ago Blazek had attempted to get his GED and failed.
“I was a cocky kid who thought I would breeze through the GED requirements. Boy, was I wrong,” he said.
Now, holding a full-time job with Quality Residential Living, Blazek mustered the courage to try once again.
“I thought I would be the old guy on campus, but the teachers and students have made me feel welcome,” he said.
Blazek credits Karen Culver, an instructor at the college, for his success and enrollment in college classes.
“Karen is more than a teacher. She cares about her students and becomes our friend.”
FORTY-FOUR STUDENTS will be recognized with GED diplomas at Monday’s commencement exercises. Twenty-eight of the graduates will be awarded scholarships to continue their education at either Allen County or another community college.
Those receiving scholarships are estimated to be in the equivalent of the upper 40 percent of a high school graduating class.
Lynne Allison, current GED recipient, Margarito Solano, a 2008 GED recipient and ACCC student, and Mike Beene, state operations manager for the Public Workforce System with the Kansas Department of Commerce, will be speakers at the 7:30 p.m. ceremony in ACCC’s gymnasium.
Graduates and their guests will be honored at a reception immediately following commencement in the lobby.
