After six grueling years of trying to balance raising a child and attending school, Jessica Ferland-Yaniga was named valedictorian of the graduating class of the Bayonne Adult School, the last to earn that distinction since the program has officially ended.
Adult School – a nighttime program offered to students 16 and older – was combined with another program that will begin in September. The new program will no longer be offered to people over 21 years old.
A native of Queens, N.Y., Ferland-Yaniga moved to Bayonne about six years ago when she and a friend decided to take advantage of a program that was not offered in many other communities – a school that allowed adults to get their diploma. New York City only offered a GED program.
“They had nothing like this there,” she said. “I was born and raised in Queens, N.Y., and grew up with very little money always struggled with schooling and my studies,” she said. “I dropped out of high school at age 16, but was soon convinced by my best friend to move to Bayonne to attend the adult high school to obtain a diploma.”
Perhaps she might have achieved her diploma sooner, she said, but she gave birth to a daughter at 19. So she had to take a year off.
“Then I decided at age 20 to go back to school,” she said. “I wanted to prove to my little girl that school is always important.”
The death of her father threatened to derail her education dream again, but she refused to give up her goal of getting her diploma.
“I realized that if I couldn’t do it for myself, then I had to do this for my little girl and my father,” she said. “I worked very hard for several years and graduated from the Bayonne Adult High School on June 16, 2009 as valedictorian.”
In her valedictorian speech, given during the adult graduating ceremonies on June 16, Ferland-Yaniga called this moment a milestone in each graduate’s life, and said the moment marked the closing of one door and the opening of another.
“The doors to the Bayonne Adult High School opened for me five years ago,” she said. “During my first two years, I married, had a baby, mourned the terrible loss of my beloved father… I faced a decision of leaving or continuing my studies.”
She chose to continue her studies. But she said she was not alone in facing tough choices. Each of the graduates had a similar story, a story of obstacles to overcome, and of perseverance to overcome them.
“It was rough – I won’t lie – but it was worth it.” – Jessica Ferland-Yaniga
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“Don’t ever give up on your dreams,” she told them.
Ferland-Yaniga is aware of how lucky she is to have attended the Adult High School when she did.
“I’m over 21,” she said. “If I was to try now, I would have to go for a GED. The new program is only open to people 20 or younger.”
Ferland-Yaniga’s honors also included two awards for English and one for science.
What adds to this accomplishment is the fact that she is one of the very few in her extended family to actually get a high school diploma.
“It was rough – I won’t lie – but it was worth it,” she said.
She said her future might include going on to cosmetology school and possibly college for business courses, with the aim of opening her own beauty salon.