City Colleges of Chicago Celebrates Illinois High School Diploma Earners

On Saturday, June 14th, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate students who have earned their Illinois high school diploma with the help of prep classes through City Colleges’ Adult Education program. The program, offered at locations across the city, provides free GED and HiSET preparatory classes. This year, more than 250 students chose to celebrate reaching that milestone with their peers, families, friends, supporters, and leadership from City Colleges of Chicago and the City of Chicago.

The City Colleges community was joined by special guests Dr. Macqueline King, senior director of education policy for City of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and incoming interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools and State Representative Theresa Mah. A student from each of the six City Colleges that offer these Adult Education classes was invited to speak at the ceremony that also included remarks from Provost Mark Potter, Executive Vice Chancellor – Chief Institutional Advancement Officer and Chief of Staff Veronica Herrero, Vice Chancellor for Adult Education Luis Narvaez, and Vice Chancellor for Student Enrollment Management Will Barefield.

In his remarks, Englewood resident Thomas Adams said, “my education and career goals are focused in social entrepreneurship. I want to start businesses that focus on social, economic and environmental issues. My next step is to go to college this fall at Kennedy-King College. My advice to any student that wants to do it, the educator and administrators are going to give you every tool you need to succeed. After earning my diploma, I now have a level of self-fulfillment and know I can do anything.”

To learn more about free high school diploma prep in English or Spanish, visit www.ccc.edu/ae.