Ashlyn Truesdell of Vicksburg received her High School Equivalency Certificate from Hinds Community College.

She was among about 50 adult learners celebrating their accomplishments.

“I have joined in the journey with several of you. It hasn’t been an easy one for everyone but you did it. You didn’t give up,” said Kristi Johnson, Director of Adult Education and Training. “And you’re sitting here and you earned it. You earned every bit of it, I hope you’re proud of it.”

Keynote speaker Marvin Moak, Vice President of Facility Management and Auxiliary Services, recalled that he dropped out of high school, “which severely limited opportunities that I was going to have in my life. With a whole lot of prayers from my mom and a lot of action from my dad, I returned to school and later went to college. I became the first in my family to not only attend college but to graduate from college. None of this was easy.

“Everyone’s path is different,” he added. “You are going to be presented with opportunities. We have to make a choice, to take them or not. Each of you made the choice to take an opportunity. Don’t stop. Opportunities taken will lead you to different places in the world, places you can’t even imagine.”