SW BOCES GED student

Monica Victoria became a single mother with no high school diploma. She joined Southern Westchester BOCES, Adult Education, and got her GED. This fall she will be a freshman at Nyack College. Monica spoke at Southern Westchester BOCES' student recognition ceremony, where she says that Southern Westchester BOCES was "The best $10 I ever spent." 

Monica Victoria's speech:

I just moved and I am tired. I have moved many times, I have even moved from NY to HI and back again, twice. We have all moved at one time or another. But wherever you move, whether close by or far away, upsize or downsize, moving is a lot of work. You have to pack up all your belongings. Things get lost; damaged. You get rid of things, sell, give away, throw away and buy new things. A lot of work goes into moving and it’s not easy, so I’m very tired. But there is an aspect of moving that I do love. Every single time I have moved, it’s like a fresh start; a clean slate, something new, something different. And that is what obtaining my GED has been for me; A FRESH START, a clean slate, something new, something different.  

I had gotten by without a diploma for so long; I thought I did not need one, until the industry that I worked in for 7+ years collapsed and I was laid off. I did not know what I was going to do.. so I had a baby. My son will be 3 in November and he inspired and motivated me to get my GED diploma. I did not want to be another High school drop-out, single-mom with a baby. I wanted to be a better example to my son, so my goal was to get my GED and go back to school. And get a degree in…I wasn’t sure. I knew I wanted to work with troubled teens, because I was once a troubled teen. I had started the SW BOCES program at St Gabriel’s church in the spring of 2010 and this fall I will be a freshman at Nyack College working towards my Bachelor’s degree in Youth Ministry.

My dreams are coming true. This brings me to what I really want to talk about: DREAMS, we all have them, every single one of us. Martin Luther King’s famous speech was about a dream, in his famous speech he says “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream”.

Because of the lot life has handed each one of us, we never graduated High School, and that’s okay, there is nothing wrong with that, you should never be ashamed of not having a diploma. Just do not give up, keep working towards that dream of one day getting that GED diploma in the mail. Obtaining my GED has in a way helped me find my own identity and is fulfilling my wish and pray and hope that you all get to experience that. I have to say about SW BOCES “THE BEST $10 I ever spent!!!”

Thank you SW BOCES and thank you to my teacher Jane Dixon and Supervisor Maria Guerrero for the opportunity of reaching my dream.

Submitted by Maria Guerrero,
Supervisor of Adult Education, Southern Westchester BOCES
Phone: 914-332-1680
Business cell: 914- 708-0124
Fax:  914- 524-9291
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