Bradley, Marion and Hamilton County GED Earners Celebrate with Graduation Ceremony

The economy sends people flocking to get their GEDs.

Chattanooga State sees a dramatic increase in the number of people signing up for adult education classes.

Nearly 100 who got their certificate in the last six months celebrated their accomplishment Thursday night.

At 58 years old Eva Walker celebrates the achievement ...as her children look on with pride.

Eva Walker, GED Graduate, "To see their mom walk across the stage after I watched them walk across the stage. It's pretty good."

She's one of 82 people honored for earning a GED between last December and this May.

An economic blow pushed her to try.

Walker, "With the economy the way it is I lost my job. I got laid off."

A growing number of adults turn to education as the recession hits close to home.

Suzanne Elston, Chattanooga State Director of Adult Education, "We have stayed busy all year long. We've had waiting lists for many of our classes all year long. Some weeks we would see 80 to 100 new students coming in the door every single week and that's just been unprecedented."

Chattanooga State's Suzanne Elston tells us with Volkswagen and its suppliers on the way, people want to be prepared when the jobs start rolling in.

Elston, "A lot of people are really interested in going into the college of technology center and going into some of those technical careers where there are some jobs coming and this is the first step on their way to doing that."

The recession taught many of the graduates a serious lesson.

Jonathan Pereira, GED Graduate, "I put applications in like everywhere and you know since I don't have a GED they really didn't look at them so maybe now they'll look at them."

As they pause to mark how far they've come, many look toward what's left to be done.

Marlowe Reynolds, GED Graduate, "To further my education because I wanted to go to college. To get a good job. You're not going to have a good job these days without a college education."

With this step, Eva Walker has new hope.

Walker, I got my CNA license so I'm seeking a job as a CNA for now. You just gotta keep looking it's tough out there."

The regional graduation ceremony honored graduates from Hamilton, Marion and Bradley counties.