MCC Adult Ed graduates receive high school equivalency diploma

Published 12:05 pm Monday, July 28, 2025

Families and friends joined Meridian Community College staff in celebrating Friday as more than three dozen adult education students graduated with their high school equivalency diplomas in a ceremony in McCain Theater.

Sarah Reece, HSE testing coordinator for MCC, said graduates have different backgrounds, but they all worked hard to earn their HSE degree and have earned the right to be proud of themselves.

Brandi Ratliff, professional development strategist with the Mississippi Community College Board, speaks Friday at a graduation ceremony for MCC adult education students. Photo by Thomas Howard

“As you prepare to embark on your next chapter, remember you carry all of the support from everyone in this room,” she said. “Each of you has unique stories filed with experiences you can use to enrich those around you and your community.”

The guest speaker for Friday’s graduation was Brandi Ratliff, professional development strategist with the Mississippi Community College Board. Ratliff, herself a HSE program graduate, said there have been times in her life when she felt “the shift,” or the feeling that her current situation can’t be all life has to offer.

After dropping out of school in eighth grade to work, Ratliff said the shift led her to move to a different restaurant where tips were better. At 17, the shift led her to take the HSE test and ultimately enroll in community college.

Continuing to study, Ratliff went on to get a master’s degree and specialist degree in education and is currently in the dissertation part of a doctoral program.

“That is how the shift happens. It starts with a stirring, a belief that there’s a little bit more available to you than what you’re seeing,” she said. “It tells you to go and seek that. Then it starts being a little bit reckless again.”

Many of Friday’s graduates likely felt that shift in their own lives before they enrolled in MCC’s adult education program, Ratliff said, and continuing to pursue new opportunities will open up a whole new world to explore. She encouraged the graduates to seize upon those opportunities when they present themselves.

“Sometimes the road that you think you’re on is not the road you’re going to stay on,” she said. “But when you position yourself into the place you’re supposed to be, the shift can take you a whole lot further than where you thought you were going.”

Equipped with their HSE degrees, Ratliff said graduates have new opportunities awaiting them. A high school equivalency degree is a key to a better future, she said.

“Your life is about to take off from here. Your diploma, it’s a key. It’s going to open doors you never imagined you could open,” she said. “Go apply for jobs that you’re not sure if you’re qualified for because I’m telling you, you’re qualified. Go out and do the things that you aren’t sure if you can do.”

MCC’s Vice President of Workforce Development Joseph Knight said graduates’ HSE diploma is proof, not only of their knowledge, but also of their determination and discipline. Each graduate faced individual challenges they had to overcome to be on the stage Friday, but they overcame those obstacles and achieved their goal.

Learning, however, does not stop with a diploma, and Knight challenged each graduate to continue learning and growing throughout their lives.

“Never stop investing in yourself. Lifelong learning isn’t just about books or tests,” he said. “It’s about staying curious, staying open and continually learning to understand.”