Project: LEARN of Medina County recognizes GED recipients and ESOL students

LAFAYETTE TWP. — Project: LEARN of Medina County held a graduation ceremony to recognize students who passed their General Education Development tests as well as people who leveled up in their English to Speakers of Other Languages course on Thursday at Buckeye Woods Park. There have been over 10 GED recipients this year so far, Project: LEARN Director Jennifer Brenner said. Currently, the organization also has more than 70 ESOL students who mainly come from Ukraine. She said she is proud of all the students for not giving up when it may have been easy to do so. "They really have overcome a lot of challenges and barriers to obtaining their education," Brenner said. "It's kind of nice to celebrate their successes if they never attended their high school graduation. It's just a fun way to honor them and their accomplishments." Ashley Powell was the main speaker for the event. She is the president of So Now What, which is an organization that intends to help and encourage people when they face adversity. During her speech, she told the crowd a story of her almost drowning as a child until an unknown person pulled her up. She said that in life, the waves of hardship will happen to everyone throughout their life. Yet, she encouraged the students to keep learning, growing and overcoming obstacles. "Find a mentor, a hand up, in the chaotic waves of life, who can help you and guide you down the path you desire," Powell said. "You fight for that breath of air, and then keep pursuing your passions even when they don't align with societal standards. They can keep their box. We'll thrive outside of it." It is the first year that Brenner has put on the ceremony, and she said the goal is to have the celebration twice a year for students. "We'd like to have one in the early summer, end of spring, for students who cycled in and completed by this time," she said. "Then we'd like to have another one in December, just before the holidays, for anybody who's completed from now until then because it's kind of a revolving door for enrollment with our programs." For more information on Project: LEARN's services, visit bit.ly/44Z1aS1. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.