FORT WORTH -- When Tomasa Herrera was unsuccessful in helping her great-grandson with his homework, he called her out.
"He told me, 'You need to go back to school, Grandma,'" Herrera said.She did, and three years later Herrera is now the proud owner of a GED certificate -- at age 79."To this day I don't know what to say about it," Herrera said. "Deep down inside me, I'm excited. There's just not words to express."While earning a General Educational Development high school equivalency certificate is rare for a woman her age, perhaps even more remarkable are the setbacks she overcame during those three years.Paralyzed from the waist down and using a wheelchair, Herrera also endured eye surgery, appendicitis and a broken leg during her journey to achievement."She never gave up," said Gail Burrows, GED instructor for the Northside Workforce Learning Center at Tarrant County College. "She came every single day, she participated and was determined. Nothing stopped her, nothing."Herrera said that despite everything, she insisted on being treated like "any other student.""I didn't want any special treatment," she said. "Math was the hardest part for me; I failed it three times" before passing.Herrera said she spent most of her childhood in foster care, being shuffled from home to home, and never attended school.Once she reached age 13, she worked various jobs, mostly domestic."I would make a living for myself the best I could," Herrera said. "I worked wherever they let me."After she earned her GED, her 10-year-old great-grandson, Noé Alexander "Alex" Soto, accompanied her as she received her certificate. He had helped her with her math."I'm really glad she went back to school and got her diploma," Alex said. "I pretty much motivated her. I helped her read words and solve problems."Other relatives supported her as well, including son Victor Herrera, who would pick up extra work from her teachers when needed."I never had any doubts because of her character," Victor Herrera said. "She's not a quitter."Tomasa Herrera is one of two students 60 and older who earned their GEDs at TCC in the 2010-11 school year. Overall, 112 students earned GEDs at TCC in 2010-11.Of the 788,000 people who took GED tests in 2009 -- the last year for which statistics are available -- only 0.4 percent were 60 or older, according to the American Council on Education.The average age of a GED recipient is 26."There are several elderly people that do take the GED test," said DeEtta Culbertson, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency. "Certainly someone of that age and older is someone to be admired."Herrera, who works with the Women of Hope, a ministry that helps women seeking regeneration and healing after trauma, said she plans to attend TCC to obtain certification in interpretation of sign language."I want everyone to know, you can get an education regardless of your age, background, situation," Herrera said. "You can rise above it."By the numbers
2 people 60 and older who earned a GED at Tarrant County College in 2010-11
112 people who earned GEDs at TCC in 2010-11
473,000 people who earned GEDs nationwide in 2009
17.8 million people who earned GEDs from 1943 through 2009
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