Class of 2022 Graduation Speakers

I stand before you today to share my journey. 

The households I grew up in weren’t big on being supportive, positive or attentive. This caused my education to fall short on what was expected of me and also caused me to mature at a very young age. I was then forced to advocate for myself and become my biggest fan. 

I have learned that love has to start within yourself. How can we say we love others and know our true value without loving ourselves? I took a look at myself through a magnifying glass seeing flaws and all and realized I was trying to feel complete by relying on others when my main focus should’ve been to rely on myself. I didn’t understand me enough to love myself but that soon changed. 

For me; what gave me the boost I needed was to surround myself with strong, independent, supportive individuals. It’s fascinating how the mind works in how our thoughts can have so much power over us and our actions. The moment we begin to transition from negative to positive thinking it’s like doors begin to open. It brought me to ask the question “can anyone really open doors for us or is it completely up to us to open the doors for ourselves?” It creates a whole new level of accomplishment. 

Struggle is meant to be temporary. I believe struggle is a time to reflect, analyze and strategize. It takes maturity, clarity, strength and sometimes even the right resources to overcome it and make those changes to have it not be a permanent way of living. 

I know a mother gives her children the gift of life, however, for me personally I feel my 3 little blessings have given me life. They opened my eyes, gave me the drive needed for me to be successful and gave me purpose. I gained the courage to re-enroll in Adult Education classes a third but final time around. Telling myself I am deserving, I am smart enough and I will not fail. I am knowledge hungry, I am at my best and I am unstoppable.

I owe a substantial amount of appreciation and gratitude to Seeds for their on-going guidance, support and patience throughout my journey. The staff invests so much time and effort into their students that they start to feel like family. The tutors devote their time to ensuring the students have full understanding of what’s being taught and even remain cheering from the side-line. 

Seeds has taught me that I must have faith in myself and to not assume something is going to be extremely difficult without an attempt to do it. I am so proud to say that not only am I a graduate of 2022 but that I am now a nursing student and will also be a graduate of 2023 as well. This is just the beginning. 

Thank you Seeds and thank you to all who support me in my journey.

Good evening…..

My name is Chira Blackshear and I’ve been with the Seeds of literacy program for 2 yrs. I met Todd (virtual site coordinator) September 2020 after failing the Math Ged test for the 6th time.  I’ve been trying to get my Ged since 2011 which is the year I was supposed to graduate high school. I’ve been through many trials and tribulations and moments where I gave up so many times.  

Getting introduced to this program has helped my life in an amazing way.  After giving birth to 3 children 11yrs 1yr 7mths & two beautiful within the past two years after joining I made a promise that I’ll never give up again. Sitting on the computer daily with my tutor Maya with her helping me, teaching me, and being patient with me and my children has been a true blessing and for that I am forever grateful. In closing I just want to say never give up on your dreams or on anything that you want to accomplish. 

No matter how hard it gets, try your best to stay focused and positive. Because without prayer and Todd & Maya consistent words of encouragement I wouldn’t be here today….. So thank you for everything.

When I was a freshman in high school, I was dyslexic, I couldn’t see very well, and there wasn’t much help.  They placed me in a learning disability class with a “mixed bag”.  I fought a lot in school, to defend myself because of me being in that class. While I was in school I always felt like I didn’t belong there.  I made it to the end of 11th grade, but decided not to go back. I dropped out and starting working instead. 

I got married at 18, we had a son at 19 and I did what I had to do to provide for my family, including working 3 jobs. At that point in my life, it was virtually impossible to get my GED. 

I have a lot of stories, and a lot of different backgrounds, because I don’t like saying no to new experiences.  There were a lot of things I couldn’t do, though, because I didn’t have the GED.  

By the time I was in my 30s, I had aged out of a lot of things that I really wanted to do, like being a police officer.  In my neighborhood, I saw how people got treated and I wanted to make a difference.  But I couldn’t do it, I didn’t meet the minimum requirement for education, again, because I didn’t qualify, NO GED ! ! !

I started martial arts when I was 10 years old  because I didn’t need to read or write to do it and I also had a big brother that was 5 x’s bigger than me and he was only 2 years older than me and he didn’t let me forget it!   

I taught martial arts classes at Baldwin Wallace, and you need a diploma to get in there.  I always felt strange teaching people who had more education than me. I’ve taught doctors, lawyers, and business owners.  I have these experiences, but in the back of my mind, I always felt that shame.  

My super awesome wife Kim, helped me, even in getting my job with the city.  She wrote me an information sheet that I could use to fill out the application.   I’ve been there 24 years this year and I am great at my job!  However, I could not advance at my job without MY GED!

I tried my first GED class, in Tremont, and they were basically like a study hall.  I couldn’t read very well, at that time, so that didn’t help.

A few years after that, I went to another program which was basically the same thing.  They would teach one subject, and if it was your subject, great, but it wasn’t catered to any individual.  You had to wait for them to get to what you were working on. In addition, Polaris had a strict attendance policy and I was kicked out because my work schedule didn’t allow me to attend all the classes.  

I lived in the neighborhood around West 25th and Clark as a kid.  I moved out when I was in my early 20s. . . 

Several years later, I was driving by in my city street sweeper and I saw the sign, in 2016! The Seeds of Literacy Sign, it planted the “seed” that compelled me to call, because I thought I could be a graduate like a leaf on the sign.  I called to come in and register.  I liked the set up, there were lots of people, plenty of tutors to work with the students.  And you could work on the subjects you needed help with after the assessment.

The evening coordinator, Tim would match me with the tutors that I needed, and that’s when I started feeling at home.  The work packets are great.  It took me a few tutors to find the right ones that I really connected with.  Anna was the first tutor that actually made me change my ways.  I couldn’t organize my thoughts, and I wasn’t used to writing notes.  I was used to using shortcuts, or workarounds to get by.

Anna forced me to bring a notepad and write things down.

“Just try it,” she’d say.

After a while, the higher math became easier to keep track of when I did it that way.  She stuck with me for over a year, until the pandemic forced us online.

You come here looking forward to a friendly face, and a tutor to work with you.  They’re like a pen pal that’s not really a pen pal: you’ve got a common goal.  They’re giving their time and effort, and you don’t feel like you’re being talked down to.  No one treated me like I was uneducated.

I told my 2 boys, Christopher & Joseph, if you stay in school, I’ll go to get my GED.  It’s always been a sore point with me that I didn’t have it.  I’d talk to other people and find myself limited, and embarrassed.  The main thing that brought me to Seeds of Literacy, besides the “glorious sign” was to wash away the personal shame and to fulfill my promise to my boys.

The GED is harder than high school, because you actually have to know stuff.  I was deathly afraid of language arts because I was and am dyslexic.  Before, I used to memorize everything.  That way, I didn’t need to look at it, I knew what it said.  It took me a while to get things down, but those were the workarounds that I needed to have because I couldn’t read and write well.  That’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of things to carry in your head.

If it wasn’t for Elizabeth’s dedication and encouragement, I wouldn’t have finished.  For example, putting in the extra effort to blow up the letters so I could see right after my surgery, and we could continue working together.  I was legally blind, missing a leg and not working. Perfect recipe for depression and a great reason to quit, but she wouldn’t let me.  I don’t think she realizes how important she was to my graduation, to my continuing education. She will never know how much she made a difference in my life, helping me to get  MY GED, Thank you, Elizabeth!

Before the pandemic, I came to class, BUT during the pandemic, Seeds of Literacy quickly pivoted to the online format. This worked out great for me because, I was restricted to a wheel chair, I couldn’t leave the house and I wasn’t allowed to drive.

I’d like to say something about Melina, better known as the velvet hammer, she was always nudging me.  I always looked forward to her calling, because I knew she wanted me to work, or had good news.  She was always on top of things.  Most people wouldn’t care to call you.  Melina was the only one that I let know that I had lost my leg.  She was the one that I confided in and she gained my trust to allow others to know. She continually encouraged me throughout my recovery.  Thank you Melina for pushing me to take the tests.

This group, the staff and the tutors, they all care about the students and go the extra mile. 

They all gave you a sense of it being more than just a job to them.  Seeds of Literacy at the heart or core is really about giving people a helping hand up, helping people raise up to a level to support themselves, to help their own families.  At Seeds of Literacy, they can help you break that cycle of fear and personal challenges that can keep people from graduating.

When I started coming here, when I got the right tutor, it felt comfortable.  It felt like I always belonged here.

I tried, I came here, I felt comfortable, and everyone here did a good job of helping to keep me here.  They know your name when you show up.  People need that.

My plans are, now that I have my GED,

• I can get several certifications that I wasn’t able to do with the state.  
• I can make more money.  
• I can raise my income, and that’s what I’m going to be doing over the next few months.  
• I’m in a better position at the city, so I’m more in charge of myself rather than having other people in charge of me.  

That’s what my GED has done for me!

I want to thank my wife, Kim who made this all possible, she gave me the freedom to come here, and was very supportive.  How supportive was she Joe?  She was so supportive that she cheered me on every time that I passed a test & NEVER complained once about me attending in person or online.  Thank you Kim, you are one in a million and I am so thankful that God gave you to me.  I couldn’t ask for a better partner in life.

Moving forward from here I hope that you as students can open doors for others, as the tutors have opened doors for you!

Our GED has opened doors, and the possibilities are endless.  This DIPLOMA is the jump-off point for all kinds of things.  It also gives US the opportunity to walk a little taller.  I don’t have to dodge the question of “when did you graduate?”  I can say AND you can say, June 29, 2022 ! ! !