Miguel Vasquez was born in the US; then went back to Mexico as a young boy. When he returned here, at age 17, he worked in a every fast food restaurant you can think of – Wendy’s, Berger King, Arby’s and McDonalds.

But Vasquez, unhappy with his prospect, decided to get his GED so he could move forward with his life. He passed all five tests the first time around. Now, he has adopted a two-fisted approach to his future.

He’s taking a culinary arts course at JobTrain so he can be a cook. And he’s taking ESL classes at Canada College. But Vasquez doesn’t want a career as a cook. Rather, he plans to work as a cook so he can support himself while he receives the training he needs to be a computer technician.

Back in the early 90s Dennis Mason was expelled from high school due to truancy. When he was in his 20s, Dennis realized that a high school degree really would come in handy so he enrolled in a GED program at Sequoia Adult School. He was a dedicated student but was forced to drop out because he was working full time and also raising a family.  Last year, Dennis again entered a GED program at Sequoia Adult School but this time was different. After attending classes and brushing up on his skills, Dennis passed all five subject tests on his first try. Now 34, Dennis is enrolled at Foothill Community College in the Network Enterprise program. Ironically, Dennis didn’t need his GED to enroll at Foothill. But, for Dennis, that wasn’t the issue. “Knowing that I’d passed the GED was the only way I’d have enough confidence to continue my education,” he says.

GED Scholarship Network portal log-in required

About the GED Scholarships

Some people in our community never had the opportunity to earn a high school diploma, and others may have had the chance but did not because something got in the way.  For these people, adult school provides a gateway to confidence and life possibilities through the GED program. 

The adult school does not charge tuition, but neither does it provide books, and students must pay to take tests.   Many adult students without a degree suffer unemployment, and the needed cash to take a test is a hardship.  To meet this need, the volunteers who teach in the adult school chip are chipping in to supplement what the student can pay.  They formed the Sequoia District Adult School Foundation to solicit funds, support the GED program, and to assist students that continue on to local community colleges.

What INCH does

Matching and record keeping
INCH encourages this work of community uplifting by matching the contributions made for the GED scholarships, whether those contributions come from the volunteer teachers or from the outside.  INCH matches the amount, and records an addition to the program equal to twice the amount of the donation.  INCH sends an acknowledgment of the donation to the donor, unless the donor requests that this not be done.  The donation is tax-deductible.

Issuing scholarships
The volunteers and staff of the adult school are in close touch with their students, and encourage those who are prepared and have need to request a scholarship by writing a letter to the Adult School Foundation.  The Foundation has an executive group that meets from time to time to review the requests and to conduct other business.  Requests that are approved are forwarded to INCH with the applicant's letter, and INCH then writes a check in the amount specified by the executive group, payable to the Adult School, for the purpose of helping with test fees.  At present, INCH is limiting the amount of the scholarship to a maximum of half of the total costs for tests and other fees.

How to participate

Contributions should be made to INCH.  This is for matching purposes, and because INCH is a 501c(3) organization, so tax deduct-ability is assured.  The contributions should be mailed to either the treasurer of the Sequoia District Adult School Foundation, Brianna Chavez, at 3247 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Briana records these checks for the Sequoia District Adult School Foundation, and sends the checks to INCH.    They can also be delivered to Guillermo Acevedo at the Middlefield Center of the Adult School office in Redwood City, who will get them to Briana.  Alternatively, a contributor may send a check to INCH directly, noting on the check that the amount is for the GED Scholarship program. 

Interested students should not apply directly to INCH, but instead should contact the Adult School Foundation through Guillermo Acevedo at the Middlefield Center of the Adult School office in Redwood City.

For answers to questions, please contact INCH, or contact Guillermo.