After leaving school at the age of 16, (thinking work was more important than school), and raising her son, Janet Fese decided to make a better life for herself.  Janet moved to Illinois from Arkansas, where in her words, she had “really messed up” her life.  When Janet’s stepdaughter told her that she had enrolled in GED classes, Janet (at age 47) decided it was time to complete her high school equivalency (GED) also.  Janet discovered that she could study for the GED online through GED-i offered at Joliet Junior College, and completed the registration process.

Janet’s stepdaughter did not think that the online program would work, and told Janet that she should enroll in a class instead.  Even though Janet “knew it was going to be hard” since she “had been out of school for so long, and had not taken classes such as algebra and geometry in school”, she was determined to pass the GED Test --- and with a score higher than her stepdaughter.  The positives to working with GED-i for Janet included the ability to study at home, at her own pace, and without being distracted by other students in class or “trying to keep up with students younger than (me) and who had been out of school for a shorter time.”

Janet took full advantage of all that the GED-i has to offer, including one-to-one guidance and instruction from her online instructor, Emilie McCallister, time to learn the subject matter, supplementary resources, and immediate feedback.  Janet even completed the entire Math module twice!

Janet took the GED Test in June, 2007, and shares credit for her score of 2810 with her “great instructor”, the “support of (her) husband and son”, and the “quality of the GED-i program.”  Janet is most pleased that her score beat her stepdaughter’s GED Test score.

Janet has already taken advantage of the college transition services offered by JJC’s Division of Adult and Family Services.  She has received career guidance, applied for financial aid, and has registered full-time for the Fall, 2007 semester at JJC, majoring in Information Technology.  She plans to earn her Associates Degree and work from home in the IT field.  Janet will complete the majority of her courses through distance education, taking “as many classes as possible” online.

Back to Success Stories