G.E.D. GRAD EARNS HER DEGREE AT SOUTHEAST

Though dropping out of high school, Sherry Bollinger kept a dream: to earn a college degree.

Today, Bollinger realizes her dream. She will graduate from Southeast Missouri State University with a teaching degree.

Commencement will be begin at 2 p.m. today at the Show Me Center. Jackson attorney John Lichtenegger will be the commencement speaker.

Bollinger and her husband Bob had finished their junior year of high school. They got married that summer and neither one went back for their senior year. Bob, who is older, earned his GED six months after he dropped out of school. Sherry, who was 17, had to wait until she was 18. "By the time I was eligible to take the GED, we had already started a family and we were both working full time."

But she was determined that one day she would earn her high school diploma. It took three attempts over 10 years for her to do it.

"I always felt education was so important," Bollinger said. "I had promised myself and my stepfather I would get a high school diploma."

Secretly, she dreamed of attending college, but felt that was really not a possibility.

Bollinger worked full-time at a hospital job and attended adult education classes in Sikeston. Her husband cooked dinner and took care of their two children while she studied.

When she took the GED test, she passed with flying colors. A goal had been achieved.

"One day, someone from the adult education center called and asked if I knew I was eligible for a GED Scholarship to Southeast," Bollinger recalled.

The university offers a "full-ride" scholarship to GED recipients who have scored 300 or above on the test.

"Here it was. My dream was a possibility," Bollinger said. But she wasn't sure she should quit her job at the hospital, which she enjoyed. She also knew it would be hard on her family if she went to college.

"I talked it over with my husband and he said go for it." She did.

"I give all the credit to my husband and my children," Bollinger said. "I may have made a mistake dropping out of school and marrying young, but I didn't make a mistake about who I married."

When she entered the university, Bollinger considered a career in medicine. But she decided on education. "My earliest memories were of me playing school. I was the teacher."

Bollinger also felt her experiences might help her relate to students. "I know how hard it is to stay in school and how hard it is to learn," she said.

College was tough. "It was a shock. It was so difficult," Bollinger said. "There were many nights I sat at my computer crying over papers I couldn't write and over algebra problems I couldn't figure."

The scholarship requires a G.E.D. student to maintain a 3.5 grade point average. "I almost didn't make it. My stepfather died after a three month battle with cancer. My father suffered with congestive heart failure at the same time."

But she did.

Bollinger today earns a degree in elementary education with an area of specialty in learning disabilities. She did her student teaching at Bell City. She is now completing her learning disabilities practicum at Alma Schrader. In fact, she must return to Alma Schrader next week after graduation to make up snow days.

The advice she gives her own children has always been set goals, work hard and never give up. And she's proud of their accomplishments. Her son Bobby, 22, is a student at Southeast. Her daughter Kristina, 18, will graduate from high school this spring and plans to enroll at Southeast.

Bollinger has set a new goal for herself. "Now my biggest job is to find a job," she said. She has applied at a number of area schools, but hasn't heard back yet. She's still looking.