On Saturday, June 21, Seeds of Literacy recognized the 137 graduates of the Class of 2025.

Forty-four of this year’s grads decorated caps, put on their robes, and walked across the stage in front of friends, family, and supporters.

Although unable to attend the event in person, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb recorded a special message for the GED grads.

THE SPEAKERS

KEYNOTE

This year’s keynote speaker was airline pilot Courtney Schoch. She has many accolades and titles: published author, marathon runner, airline pilot (previously a captain), podcaster, nonprofit founder, and she now holds multiple master’s degrees. But the title she is most proud to share is GED Graduate.

“I had no idea what my future would look like, because I didn’t believe I had one,” she said. “I grew up in chaos, surrounded by abuse, fear, and the message that I was somehow broken beyond repair.” Earning her GED was the first step of many, but it was the one that mattered. She was stronger and able to rewrite her own story.

“That’s the real power of what you’ve done here today,” she told the grads. “You’ve interrupted the narrative. You’ve become the author of your own life, not just a character in someone else’s version.”

“Someone out there is watching you thinking If they can do it…maybe I can do it,” she continued. “I know this for a fact because I first shared my story with a small group of Seeds students in 2019.”

It was the first time she’d shared her story publicly. “I realized that owning my past permitted others to hope,” she said. She encouraged them to do the same.

GRADUATE SPEAKERS

“The first time Damisha Logan logged into the Virtual Classroom, she did so from work, and she told us she wasn’t here to mess around,” Virtual Classroom Manager Todd Seabrook said. “And she sure didn’t. She is a prime example of a student who came in with a mission and had laser focus in accomplishing it.

Damisha told the audience that before her GED, she could fake it until she made it, but something in her didn’t feel complete. “The little girl in me was screaming because that accomplishment was missing. I woke up one day and I knew it was time to put my big girl pants on. Because there was no way I could continue to be on my kids without leading by example. So that’s what I did.”

“Caring for a new daughter, working, and going to school, Precious Butler worked her way through each section, never giving up when things were tough,” said Mary Oelker, Site Coordinator at Seeds East.

“Everyone here at Seeds has been so kind and helpful over the years. I’ve met many amazing people, from staff to tutors and volunteers,” Precious said. “It truly is a community.”

“Erika Williams pushed through fear, procrastination, and every excuse life threw her way,” Seeds West Site Coordinator Blair Suttles said. “She made a promise to herself — with her three kids watching — and she kept it.”

“Who knew positive transformation was on the other side of fear?” Erika asked the audience. She said she looked in the mirror, not liking what she saw. “I looked up and days had turned into years of procrastination. I decided time wasn’t waiting on me. Nobody was coming to save me or do the work for me. I had to push myself.”

With her Seeds village cheering her on the entire way, Erika will graduate from Cuyahoga Community College.

THE CLOSER

State Representative Juanita O. Brent took the stage for a lively closing speech during which she shared that her own mother had earned a GED, and that having a GED breaks barriers for so many lives beyond their own.

“Pour back into the system that poured into you,” she told grads, stressing that elections are important to keep programs like Seeds available to everyone.

THE PHOTOS

Event photography was generously provided by Victoria Stanbridge Photography, Tim Arai, and Seeds staff member Hanne Andersen. Graduate portraits used in the slideshows were provided by long-time tutor and Board Member Mark Yanochko and Seeds staff member Jordaine Dinorog.

NAMING THE GRADS

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