SPCC's GED Fast Track jump-starts new educational path for student

Jennifer Faulk had been out of school for more than 20 years when she decided to pursue a GED, or General Educational Development, diploma.

Pregnant with her daughter, Faulk had dropped out of Sun Valley High School in 1991. Since 2004, she and her husband, Rick Buskirk, had operated a business doing drug screenings for various companies. “When the economy went down, we lost about 60 percent of our business,” Faulk said, noting they eventually closed the business. “I knew there was a different direction for me to go, and going back to school seemed to be the right direction.”

Faulk, 38, did not expect what came next. When she took her placement test for GED classes at South Piedmont Community College, her score placed her in the upper tier of prospective students. That qualified her to enter the GED Fast Track program, which allowed her to quickly finish her GED courses and begin either a career exploration track or college preparation track.

“I had been out of school so long, the last thing I expected was to do well on the testing,” she said.

She started her GED classes in January and took her GED test in the middle of February. She then enrolled in an Adult High School chemistry class, which she needed to follow the plan she has mapped out. She plans to get a Certified Nurse Assistant certificate and take prerequisite classes so that she can be accepted into the Associate Degree Nursing program. Beyond that, she would like to work as a nurse and enroll in the Physician Assistant program at Wingate University.

“It’s going to take a while, but I think the end result is worth all the hard work in between,” she said.

Faulk was one of 406 General Educational Development (391) and Adult High School (15) students from SPCC who were eligible to graduate during Friday’s commencement.

Faulk considered herself a good student before she left high school. “I was, as far as any teenager goes,” she said. “Back then, you don’t take education seriously until you get out in the real world. You think you’ve got it by the tail, but then when you get out there, it kind of slaps you and you think, ‘Maybe I don’t have it.’”

Her family, which includes her husband and five children ages 14 to 21, as well as her sister, Shelly Curtis, have all been supportive of her return to school.

“I have a support system that’s incredible,” she said.

Her sister earned her GED at SPCC and is now a paramedic in Lancaster County, S.C. “She said the environment (at SPCC) was really supportive,” Faulk said. “It’s not your typical institution. Everybody is encouraging and helps you get a game plan so you can achieve what you want to do.”

Once she enrolled, Faulk agreed with her sister’s assessment. “It’s a very positive environment and it’s such a diverse group of people as far as ages go, and nationalities. It’s very encouraging to see that. To me, it’s an excellent beginning.”

Administrators in SPCC’s Adult Basic Skills Department, such as Basic Skills Director Denise Wilson and Basic Skills Coordinator Robin Pittman, have also been impressed with Faulk. She was chosen as one of the student speakers for the Adult Basic Skills graduation ceremony last Friday.

“Robin is very encouraging,” Faulk said. “She takes the time to talk to you and figure out what you’re doing to do. She’s a pretty awesome lady. And Denise, when she contacted me, it was an honor for me to be able to speak on Friday, for them to consider me.”

During her speech, she talked about the background of the GED. One of her main points illustrated the path she is attempting to take right now.
“You can do anything with it,” she said.

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Media inquiries: Rosemary Britt, 704-272-5342, rbritt@spcc.edu