Wren is one of fourteen learners recently celebrated at VAL’s Franklin/Grand Isle Graduation and Recognition ceremony. In addition to receiving their GED, Wren was also inducted into the National Adult Education Honor Society, a reflection of their dependable attendance, cooperative attitude, and strong work ethic. Wren overcame several challenges on their path to learning with VAL. We are honored to share Wren’s story, in their own words, below:
When I was 9, I was living in Texas and was pulled out of school by my stepfather. The given reason why he wanted to homeschool me was that he didn’t approve of “project-based learning”. The real reason was to keep me isolated and without the power of knowledge or community, so that it was easier to attempt to groom me into a romantic partner for himself.
During the 11 years he was in my life, I was not given any form of education beyond what I found via unrestricted internet access and through my older sister, who didn’t live with us. I was often belittled by him for not having an education and for being neurodivergent. I was told it was my fault for not seeking a formal education and that if I wanted it bad enough, I would have found a way to still get one.
After he died when I was 19, I got a manual labor job because I fully believed that an education would have been wasted on me. Eventually, I met my wife, and we moved to Vermont from Florida. After about a year in therapy and with my wife’s support, I decided to try to find resources to get my GED. I enrolled at VAL in St. Albans.
At VAL, Kristy and Amy really helped me work on my confidence. Amy is the reason I’m in college now. She sat me down one day and (lovingly) lectured me about how I was worth it. I didn’t believe it, and sometimes still don’t, but the fact that someone believed in me so strongly made me feel like it was worth trying. She was the third person I told that I had been accepted into CCV, after my wife and mother.
Kristy helped me with my math skills. I have dyscalculia, but it’s always been my weakest area regardless. She always made me feel better about the fact that I would take longer to work on problems than others, and always answered with patience when I texted her about math problems I didn’t understand. I was never judged by her or made to feel stupider or less than.
I passed my GED tests, and Amy helped me get in touch with CCV and VSAC to start my college journey. As of this last semester, I finished with an A in Precalculus, a 3.862 GPA, was invited into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and am on track to get my A.S. in STEM Studies. I’m pursuing a PHD in evolutionary biology as it relates to Zoology and will hopefully transfer to UVM in the fall of 2027.
If there’s one thing I’d like other adult learners to know, it’s this: I will not lie to you: finishing your GED/dipmola is HARD. But you are capable of hard. You are capable of showing up for yourself in the darkest and hardest of times, and this will be no exception. I’m proud of you. I may never know you, but I will always cheer as hard as I can for my fellow adult learners. You got this : )!!