Macy Watkins took and passed her final GED test just nine days after her brother died.
A simple goal to create a better life for herself reached a milestone thanks partly to determination brought on by that unexpected tragedy.
“I told myself I was going to do it for him,” Watkins said, remembering her thoughts the morning of April 27 when she took the test. It was the math portion of the four-part GED (General Educational Development) regiment, the one Watkins admitted to being the hardest for her.
Her brother, Gage Dixon, was just 30 years old when he died April 18. No one saw his death coming.
Watkins remembers how Dixon told her, “He was so proud of me,” after she had passed the Language Arts part of the GED.
He, too, had pursued a GED, which is the equivalent of a high school diploma, but never finished.
Watkins’ story to earn her GED begins like so many others. She dropped out of school when she was 16 years old, with an education just short of a high school freshman grade level.
She was educated in public elementary schools, then switched to on-line learning. That just didn’t work for her, she said.
It was during the COVID-19 pandemic when she made the decision to get her GED. She had to find a better future.
A native of Blue Ridge and still a resident, she attended orientation at the North Georgia Technical College/Fannin Literacy Action Group (FLAG)Adult Education Center in Blue Ridge November 19, 2020.
Her studies were mostly online using the Technical College System of Georgia Blackboard program, but she also made regular stops at the education center on Overlook Drive in Blue Ridge.
A year-and-a-half later, Tuesday night, June 7, she walked in graduation ceremonies with six other Blue Ridge campus graduates in the High School Equivalency Recognition Ceremony at North Georgia Tech’s Blairsville campus.
But Watkins journey to GED success was not an easy one.
Before her brother’s death, the year-and-a-half saw her working, plan a wedding, get married and move. Her grandmother died on her wedding day, and she spent part of her honeymoon studying for the Language Arts part of the GED.
“She works. This gal works all the time,” Teresa Ross, FLAG director, said.
Now at the end of her GED journey, Watkins has simple words for current students: “Tell ’em to stay in school,” she says.
For those who drop out, her message is, “you can get a job, but it’s most likely a job you’re not going to like if you don’t have an education.”
The next step for Watkins is cosmetology classes at North Georgia Tech in Blairsville. She hopes to someday reunite with a best friend who just finished those courses so they can open their own shop. They talked about it for a long time, Watkins said.
Those interested in learning more about GED opportunities can call the North Georgia Technical College/FLAG Adult Education Center at 706-946-3524.