Kendra Paredes Hayden
Irma Olguin was honored with this year's Student Dedication and Commitment Award at Southwestern Illinois College. Naturally, she was nervous when she was asked to give a speech at her GED commencement ceremony.

Her son, Carlos, 14, told her, "Remember, Mom, when I was in the geography competition at school? You told me to hold a paperclip for good luck, and I won. Take a paperclip with you and hold it while you're giving the speech."

And that's just what she did. It was one of her proudest moments.

Stacy Lampkin, office technology coordinator, said, "Irma showed extraordinary commitment to her work in our office technology class and excelled in every aspect of her work. She struck me as a person who worked diligently to achieve her goals, which is why I felt she was deserving of this award. And on top of everything else, she's a genuinely nice person."

It has been an exciting year for Irma, who has expressive coco-colored eyes and a clear complexion. Not only did she earn her GED, she also became a United States citizen. From Mexico, Irma came to the U.S. with her brother in 1987. Like many immigrants from Latin America, she walked here. The journey was hard. At times, she didn't think she could take another step, but her brother urged her forward.

"I had new shoes when I left. At the end of the journey, my shoes were pretty much trash because we walked so many miles," Irma said.

Irma received residency in the United States, which made her eligible to become a U.S. citizen. After she passed the naturalization exam, she considered earning the GED, but she was hesitant. She felt her English was inadequate, and the thought of being in a classroom every day was overwhelming. But she wanted to make her sons, Carlos and Brian, proud. She also wanted a job, and no one would hire her in this area without a diploma.

She was already taking English as a Second Language classes at SWIC. However, Lea Maue, ESL Director, told her she didn't belong in the classes. Her English was good enough to work toward the GED. Around the same time, Irma saw the flyer that advertised the new online GED class. Studying at home was much more convenient and fit her lifestyle so she signed up.

"I thought all I had to do is write my name down and register. But we had to take a test, and we waited for four hours. The group was a big group at first. Little by little, the group got smaller and smaller. From about 18 people, only 9 people were eligible," she said.

Irma's biggest challenge was language.

"I had to work twice as hard because English is my second language. If I read something and didn't understand one word, I couldn't understand the meaning of the paragraph. I used to get up early in the morning and start studying. Sometimes I studied 10 hours a day," Irma said.

The GED test took two days. Irma waited three weeks for the results. When the envelope finally did come, she was too nervous to open it. She cried when she finally did open the letter and read, "congratulations, you passed." She had made her sons proud.

Today, Irma's future is bright. She has survived her share of hardships along the way, and she has worked hard.

"When I came to this country, I didn't know what the world held for me. I came here because I wanted to see my brothers. I hadn't seen them in over 10 years. I also wanted to follow the American dream," she said. Now that she is a citizen and she has her GED, she plans to work while she earns a degree.

"I have 12 brothers and sisters. When I was growing up, there were always many children around me. Now, I look around, and I ask myself, where are the children? I want a career working with the kids," she said.