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Bemidji Area Schools Adult Basic Education held 2007-08 GED Graduation at the Bemidji High School Auditorium on Tuesday night. There were 37 graduates who received their diplomas for having successfully completed the GED credentialing process.

For the year, 157 students passed the GED through Bemidji Area Schools.

The well attended graduation ceremony April 22 featured speeches by Lynn Tchida, Bemidji Area Schools Community Education Director and Dr. James Hess, Superintendent of Bemidji Area Schools.

Keynote speaker for the evening was Carol Parisien, Corporate Trainer for Red Lake Gaming, who started her own educational journey by first completing her GED. She then continued on to earn advanced undergraduate degrees.

Parisien congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to continue their educational journey.

Dennis Marquardt spoke as well as a representative of the graduates. Marquardt told the audience he had dropped out of school as an 18-year-old. He then struggled for many years to attain his GED credential, mainly because he suffered from two learning disabilities – dyslexia and AD/HD.

Through the assistance of the Bemidji Adult Basic Education staff Marquardt said he was able to overcome the disabilities to pass the GED exam. He implored those with learning disabilities not to give up their dreams of earning their high school equivalency. Special accommodations can be made for those with documented disabilities and they too can succeed like he did, Marquardt reported.

Although it took him nearly eight years to successfully complete the GED exam, the process was definitely worthwhile, Marquardt said. He now plans on continuing his education and enroll at Northwest Technical College this fall to pursue a career in the field of engineering.

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