March 02, 2020

If you were to sit down and have a conversation with Donna Jones, you would find that she is extremely easy and fun to talk to; she smiles often and is quick to encourage others and give them a good laugh! It wouldn’t take long for you to figure out that among her top values are family and hard work.

She claims she wasn’t always the worker that she is now, but when her son was killed in a street-fight 24 years ago at age 17, she was determined to make some changes in her life. She has allowed the tragedy that no parent should ever have to endure to shape who she is today, and that is an incredible person.

At Evansville Adult Education, we have had the privilege of getting to know Donna over the past couple years. She started our program in June of 2018 and has been one of our most dedicated students. Seeing her grandchildren graduate gave her the push she needed to work toward earning her High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma. She said, “I’ve seen three of my grandkids graduate from high school. Seeing them get their diplomas made me think, ‘Hey, I want one of those, too! They got their diplomas… I want my diploma!’” and she will stop short of nothing less than that.

Donna has taken the TASC (HSE) test many times and failed various subjects multiple times. The first time she took the test in October of 2018, she only passed 1 subject – social studies. A couple months later she retook reading and writing and failed both. She then tried again a couple months later, and, once again, she failed. Wouldn’t this woman give up trying by now? Nope, not Donna!

She tried reading and writing again for the 4th time in April of 2019 and PASSED both of them! She went on to focus on math and science, and the cycle repeated as she failed both of them. In August of 2019, Donna passed science. Four subjects down, one to go! Since then, she has tried the math test multiple times and has yet to pass. She is currently continuing to study math as she waits for her next opportunity to test in March.

When we were asked to think of a student to nominate for the IAACE (Indiana Association for Adult and Continuing Education) “Adult Learner of the Year” award, we couldn’t think of anyone more deserving than Ms. Donna. She has been a HUGE inspiration to her teachers and fellow students. Her determination to get her HSE and the way she has persevered through what many would call “failures” has been incredible to say the least. John Wooden once said, “Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” Ms. Donna has had a tremendous amount of courage. For example, immediately after she learned that she failed math once again (for the 5^th time), she shook her head and said, “If I have to come back, I’m coming back! It doesn’t matter… I’ve got to get this. I’m not giving up.” Many would have quit long ago, but she keeps going.

Our Adult Education Intake Coordinator, Sharleen, who has worked closely with Donna over the past couple years shared, “One thing that really stands out to me about Donna is that she doesn’t have to have her HSE for a job. She wants it for herself and to be able to say she did this.” Donna has held a full-time job at Hasgoe for nine years and is responsible for cleaning various facilities around Evansville. Even though she doesn’t have to have her HSE, it is very important to her that she gets it. Our current Toyota grant that pays for our students to test only allows for two retests, so Donna has been paying for many of the $19 retests on her own dime. It speaks volumes that she is willing to work so hard and pay for it herself. 

In addition to going above and beyond to prepare for the TASC test multiple times, Donna has helped two other Adult Education students get jobs and continues to encourage other students not to give up. She celebrates with students who pass the test and anxiously awaits the day she will pass and earn her diploma. When asked what having her HSE will mean to her, she said, “It will be a dream come true.” After she gets her diploma, she plans to keep working and trying to be a positive role model for her children, grandkids, and friends.

We are hopeful that Donna will be one of the graduates at our annual Vincennes University Graduation Ceremony this July. She will finally be able to say at age 59 that she is a high school graduate. Either way though, we are proud of Ms. Donna for her many accomplishments throughout the journey to her HSE. 

With tears in her eyes, Donna shared, “If my son could see me today, he would be very proud of me.” That he most definitely would be. Ms. Donna’s story may be filled with tragedy, but it is also one of great triumph.

*UPDATE: Donna PASSED math in March of 2020. She is officially a GRADUATE! We are SO excited for her! She said, “I won this race! My son in heaven is stomping around and saying, ‘Go momma! Go momma!’”

Donna is even paying it forward and donating money for someone else to take their retest. She believes in this program, but most importantly, she believes in herself. To say we are proud of her is a huge understatement. See you at graduation, Ms. Donna!!!