LYNN — Graduates from the Catholic Charities North HiSET program were honored during a commencement ceremony at Lynn Museum Thursday.
Among the graduates was Jeelsy Morales Feliz, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who dropped out of high school when she had the first of her two daughters.
“It’s just the next step to my goals… I feel like I just achieved something that I had wanted for so long,” Feliz, who is interested in pursuing phlebotomy, said.
Feliz, who faced abuse and homelessness in the past, was one of the graduates who spoke at the event to fellow graduates, friends, and family who had gathered for the ceremony, including her two young daughters.
“I’m still standing, bruised, but not broken,” Feliz said in her speech. “I never gave up on my dreams.”
Jane Snyder, the director of Catholic Charities North Education Center, said Feliz was one of 30 graduates receiving their HiSET credentials for passing the required tests in reading, grammar and writing, social studies, science, and math required to get their high-school diploma.
Members of the Catholic Charities North leadership team were in attendance for the ceremony and noted the fighting spirit each of the graduates had shown leading up to the day’s ceremonies.
“I have heard your stories and know the hard work, perseverance, and resilience that has brought you here,” Jacqueline Chernoble, the vice president for adult education and workforce development at Catholic Charities North, said in her address to graduates. “I am sure that many of you have faced adversity and probably considered giving up, but you did not.”
Robert Connolly, a HiSET teacher with Catholic Charities North, said most of the battle is convincing his students that they are capable of completing the program.
“Most come in thinking they’ll never achieve it,” Connolly said. “You just have to put the time in.”
Mayor Jared Nicholson also attended the event and gave the commencement address to the graduates.
“Our city of Lynn is a hard-working community. We have a lot going on and (that) we’re building on,” Nicholson said. “We know that we have the potential and you all here as HiSET graduates, I think, are the perfect example of that and the perfect embodiment of that spirit.”
