LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — Come June, Ronnie Blevins will proudly walk through GED graduation exercises at the London Community Center with several of his fellow students.

Blevins, 57, completed his GED in March and has been working in maintenance at The Bennett Center since then.

“I think with kids the most important thing is their education,” he said. “That should be pushed to the max. There should be every opportunity that can be out there for them to get their education. A GED is very important to me. For those out there who have degrees, it doesn’t mean much. It’s just something you have to have so you can get a job. I had 30 applications in and never got a call on any of them.”

Blevins got interested in getting his GED through Experience Works, an employment program for older persons.

“I was working painting barn quilts through Experience Works,” Blevins recalled. “They were giving computer classes at the adult education building and I wanted to take them. You have to do an entrance exam when you go in.  Angela Petrey, who was over Experience Works at the time, came up to me one day after computer class and told me I had done real good on my entrance exam and asked if I’d ever thought about getting my GED.”

Blevins said he had thought over the years about getting his GED but he never had the nerve to try. At the urging of Petrey, he started taking a few GED classes.

“I took two hours at a time or  whatever spare time I had,” Blevins said. “I just went from that. I finally got it. It took me five months. That sounds like a long time, but when you’ve been out of school for 40 some years, you need extra study time. The teachers are super nice down there. Anybody that’s afraid to get it (GED), I can tell them that it’s not what they think it is. They’re real patient and they understand. It’s just a real good program. It gives people confidence in themselves. When you first think of going to classes, you think of these stiff-necked teachers, but these people will do anything they can to help you. Even if I didn’t use it at all, I would have it saying I’ve done something on my own.”

Blevins said he was surprised when he saw how many young students were in the classes.

“My generation, we all worked,” he said. “I dropped out the beginning of my sophomore year because I didn’t want to go to school. We had to work. We didn’t have anything handed down to us. We thought the work we were doing was the only work we would have to do. I had a couple of good jobs. Getting an education didn’t seem important to us then, but now we’re seeing it’s real important. I couldn’t believe there were so many young people who had dropped out of school in this generation.”

Blevins was a sign painter in the early 1990s, long before he began working with Experience Works. He has a little shop on Ky. 30. In 1997 vinyl signs became popular and his work dwindled.

“They were quicker to do. You could walk into the flea market and get one made in a few minutes. My work just faded off. It just failed to practically nothing. I still get a few jobs along, people I’ve done work for 15 or 20 years. I was desperate for work. When you get out and try to find work, especially when you get a little age on you, they want younger workers.”

Blevins said he found Experience Works on the Internet.

“It’s a real good program. We only got like 22 hours a week when I started and I was with them for two years.”

After Blevins completed his GED studies, he was hired full time by The Bennett Center to do maintenance and some yard work.

“They still have people who stay in the dorm. Missionaries that come through. I’ve just cleaned up 26 beds in the second story level. I have to clean up the other floor. They’ll probably start showing up the first of next month.”

Blevins said he really enjoyed the work. There is a lot of walking involved but he said he needed the exercise.

“They’re just good people,” he said of the board members. “You couldn’t ask for anyone better.”

Kathryn Hardman, director of Laurel County Adult Education and Literacy, said she expects 160 to 176 students will graduate with their GED in June — up from 135 who graduated last year. She attributes the increase to free testing, teachers working on Saturday to accommodate students who work, and cooperation with Laurel County Jailer Jamie Mosley who reinstated a program for inmates to earn their GEDs.     



cmills@sentinel-echo.com