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Lydell Moore
 “I told myself, ‘This is the year I’m getting my
GED,’” said 20-year-old Lydell Moore, as he
discussed his three attempts since 2005 to finish
his General Equivalency Diploma (GED). He
wanted to get through the holidays and start
2008 with his “mind set” on completing the
program. He was so determined to finish that it
took him less than a month to get his GED.
Lydell hadn’t planned to drop out of high school,
but when he stayed back in 10th grade, he
stopped attending school in the middle of the
year. He had heard about WCAC’s GED
program from his guidance counselor and other
youth. “GED is not like school. You are there to
study. You do it on your own time. My GED
made me feel better about myself; I achieved
one goal, and now I look to the future.” Lydell
said a lot of his friends are “locked up,” but he
wants to keep moving forward.
GED instructor Mary Murphy and Job
Counselor Linda Taylor supported Lydell and
the other students by keeping them motivated—
and fed each morning with bagels donated
weekly by Bagel Inn of Holden. Community
service is an additional requirement of WCAC’s
GED programs, and Lydell and other students
sewed small fleece pillows that were donated to
UMass Memorial Hospital’s Pediatric wing.
Mary Murphy remarked that Lydell is always
eager to participate in any community service
project. “He is willing to set an example for
others, whether it be his classmates, friends, or
family members.”
This past summer, Lydell participated in the
Summer Jobs Program and worked six weeks at
the Main South Community Development
Corporation (CDC). With his earnings, he
purchased a laptop computer for his college
class work. Through a state-funded afterschool
program, Lydell was eligible for employment
and now is back at work at the CDC for 15 hours
each week.
“Mrs. Murphy was a good teacher; she helps out
on a personal level and pushed me to get myGED. She and Mrs. Taylor encouraged me to go
to college.” Once he received his GED last
February, Lydell applied to Quinsigamond
Community College (QCC) and, with financial
aid, started four business classes in September.
He plans to enter a technical school or transfer to
a four-year college, once he receives his
diploma.
Like some of the other GED students, Lydell
doesn’t always live at home because he doesn’t
want to be a financial burden to his mom.
He’s “not homeless, but not homebound.” Lydell
walks downtown to take the bus to QCC and
stops in at WCAC about twice a week to see his
teachers and use the computer lab. His mother
and three brothers are very proud of him. Lydell
has taken over a wall in the family living room
that displays his GED diploma, graduation
pictures, and other certificates from WCAC’s
programs. As the oldest sibling, Lydell encourages
his brothers to work hard in school and to
think about the future. He makes himself
available to his brothers, “the way Mrs. Murphy
was available to me.”
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