BC3 GED grads earn diplomas
BUTLER TWP — Sarah Gamble was 15 when her mother died. After that, she said, her world began “tumbling out of control.”
She dropped out of school shortly after her mother’s passing and struggled with substance use and addiction. At “rock bottom,” she was incarcerated. At 21, she gave birth to her son.
At 33, Gamble was one of 29 graduates of Butler County Community College’s free Adult Literacy program to earn her GED.
For Gamble, earning her GED was not only a career changer, but a life changer, the student speaker told friends, family and fellow graduates at a graduation ceremony Tuesday, Aug. 6.
“I’ve worked for a restaurant for almost 10 years now, trained in every position there, and I’m really good at it, but it’s never been my dream,” Gamble said. “I just thought, what am I showing my son if I’m accepting my failures in life and not doing anything at all to fix them or better my way?”
“I decided to go back to get my GED because I want to have a good career that I can be proud of,” Gamble said. “I know I needed my GED to do that. I’ve always had passion for working with the court system and recovering addicts. So now that I have my GED, I can enroll in BC3 for college courses to get that started, and soon be working a career I dreamed of as a little girl.”
“I also want to teach my son that no matter what failures you have in life — and believe me, I have enough for 10 lifetimes — that you can learn from every one of them and better yourself each time,” she said.
Cearra Mackalica and Aayom Gurung, a GED graduate from Summit Academy, also addressed fellow graduates, friends and staff.
Mackalica, 26, will use her GED to become a dental hygienist. At BC3’s GED graduation, she touched on her upbringing in the foster system, witnessing and growing up in poverty and supporting her siblings and parents while she was still a child.
“Eventually, I had to choose between education and survival,” she said. “I chose survival as I had no other choice.”
“I never thought ... I would have a chance at this life,” she said. “Statistics show over and over again people like me have little chance of prospering. However, I am here today, and I stand (by) my testimony. It is possible. I made it. I kept fighting. There’s many days and nights where I did not want to keep trying. And why would I, when the entire world is built against people like myself. People expect me to become a statistic. In 2022, I gave birth to my biggest reason to keep fighting — my beautiful daughter. And from there, the gloves were off and my fight continued.”
About 17 graduates took to the stage at the Succop Theater at BC3 on Tuesday evening to celebrate their achievement.
State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, joined graduates and their families as a featured guest speaker. Interim president Megan Coval presented the welcome address.
“When you are handed a diploma this evening, picture it as being handed a key,” Mustello told GED graduates, “a key that is capable of unlocking doors to a better future for you, and often those close to you. Most of you, if not all of you, will recognize these doors of opportunity in the coming years.”
Following graduate speeches and Mustello’s address, Josh Novak, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, delivered the keynote address.
Novak said GED graduates would now be overcoming new challenges and setting new goals after earning their certificates.
“Taking on something new, like a new job, moving away from something comfortable but something that’s holding you back, pushing you to learn even more, and maybe, like me, being the first person in your family to earn a bachelor’s degree and then continuing to push it until you’re the first to hold a master’s degree and then the first to earn a doctorate,” Novak said. “Either way, I encourage you to be emboldened by your success and to seek out new, even harder things to take on.”
Nearly 600 adults have received diplomas from BC3’s adult literacy program over the past 15 years. About 25 students are enrolled this fall in BC3’s high school equivalency courses in Butler County.
Graduates walked one by one on stage and received a certificate of completion from BC3, a letter of achievement from Butler County commissioners and a certificate from Mustello, and a white rose.
The auditorium filled with cheers from friends and family. At the end of the ceremony, Mackalica, clad in her cap and gown, held her 2-year-old daughter, Za’Miyah, and the two shared a slice of cake by the steps outside of the Succop Theater.
“She’s my world,” Mackalica said.
