DeKalb Technical College announces top GED graduate in the State
Latanya Travis, Chief Examiner for the General Education Development (GED) at DeKalb Technical College, received a letter from Kim Lee, top administrator in Georgia GED Testing announcing that the State’s highest scorer tested at DeKalb Technical College.
“Each year the GED Testing Service, Washington, presents a national award to the examinee in each state, province and territory that received the highest score on the GED Test. The 2007 examinee with the highest score from Georgia is Ms. Danette Raelene Tucker, who tested at DeKalb Technical College’s testing location,” said Ms. Lee, Director of GED Testing.
Georgia tested 31,424 candidates, age 16 and older without a high school diploma. Of the 31,424 candidates who tested in 2006, 26,979 or 85.9 percent completed the entire GED battery, while 17,065 or 63.3 percent passed the GED, compared to 68.7 percent nationwide.
“There were 18,049 GED graduates in the state of Georgia during 2007 with an overall pass rate of 67%. Danette Tucker received total points of 3980 out of 4000 available points. She received a perfect score on 4 of her 5 tests,” says Latanya Travis, GED Chief Examiner. “We try to create test schedules that are frequent and convenient for our working adults. Our goal is to make the GED test available to anyone who wants one.”
Ms. Tucker has overcome both physical and emotional obstacles to reach this level. “We at DeKalb Technical College are extremely proud of Ms. Tucker’s remarkable performance on the GED battery of tests. Her success is evidence of her strong spirit, strength of mind, and capacity to persist and succeed despite obstacles she has encountered along the way,” says Dr. Robin Hoffman, President of DeKalb Technical College.
Danette (Danni) Mossman-Tucker is a 43-year-old single mother of three. Born in northern California and raise in the Pacific Northwest, Danni has lived in the Atlanta area since 1986. She is a volunteer writer for a non-profit organization which works largely for abuse awareness, victim support and advocacy. She is also an occasional teacher and speaker for the group.
| Danni was a stay-home mom for most of 20 years, raising her two sons. However, circumstances led her to make significant changes in her life in recent years. In 2002, Danni gave birth to a daughter. Less than two years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. These two events were the catalyst, in 2005, for Danni to break free of a 20-year marriage which had been plagued by domestic violence. She was determined to beat cancer, to raise her daughter, and to ensure that her daughter would not grow up in the environment her older brothers had endured. |
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However, after 20 years as a stay-home mom, when she attempted to enter the work force Danni discovered she had no marketable skills, no job history, no relevant education and no ability to acquire a life-supportable career. After three months of active job search, the only job she could find was a dead-end, entry-level reception/clerical position with no benefits and no prospects. Eight months later, after months of bounced paychecks, she was back in the job search and finding the same problems she faced previously.
As a result, Danni realized gaining an education to get a career capable of supporting a family was her best option. When she attempted to get into graduate school she discovered that, while she had “finished” high school and completed a four-year course of study at a college, neither institution was qualified to offer a diploma or degree. In fact, the private high school she attended closed after only a couple years and was never accredited, while the college associated with the high school had been forced out of existence by the State of Texas for issuing fraudulent diplomas. So the education she thought she had was worthless. Not only would she need to start college from the beginning, but she would also need to get a high school diploma as well.
Rather than becoming discouraged and giving up in the face of this new adversity, Danni brushed up her academic skills using the library and the internet, and took her GED test. Now, Danni is in college full-time pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is focusing on maximizing her scholarship potential through maintaining high grades and has a GPA of 3.92, is on the Dean’s List, and has been invited to join Phi Theta Kappa honors society. Her ultimate goal is to acquire a graduate degree in psychology to enable her to be a professional advocate for abuse victims.
Danni has also encouraged her sons, who were not able to complete high school due to their home circumstances, to get GEDs and pursue further education. Her oldest son is presently in college part-time while working full-time. Her second son is preparing to take his GED test and will start at an automotive technical school in the fall of 2008. Danni is a strong believer that the GED is one of the greatest opportunity equalizers in existence. Using the GED, almost anyone who is willing to take their future in their hands can acquire a high school equivalency diploma and pursue whatever type of post-secondary education is best suited to their interests and skills, thereby enabling them to live more rewarding lives.
Although Ms. Tucker was never a student at DeKalb Tech but studied for the test on her own, she took the test at DeKalb Tech because of the testing schedules that are offered, explained Dr. Martha Coursey, Dean of Adult Education. “We have asked her to be one of the speakers at the GED Graduation on May 31. What an inspiration she will be! “
For more information contact:
DeKalb Technical College
404-297-9522 x2510
