Thursday night, a recognition for 700 adults who went back to school to earn their diploma.
Pima Community College is hosting the event at the Tucson Convention Center Music Hall starting at 7 p.m.
About 120 graduates will walk in the ceremony.
Some will share their stories of getting back to the classroom.
One of them, David Johnson, quit high school and worked as a cook before wanting more for his family, according to a PCC media release.
“I was working full time and going to school four days a week plus homework. But this school gave me the best feeling I ever had in my life. It showed me what I could do,” he said.
Another student, Luz Elías, moved to Tucson from the Sonoran town of Sásabe, Mexico when she was a teenager. She went back after learning English 24 years later.
The event is free and open to the public.
PCC’s Adult Basic Education program has provided literacy to high school equivalency-level classes, English language instruction, and testing for nearly 50 years, serving more than 6,000 students and many more testers every year. For more information on PCC’s GED/HSE preparation classes and testing, contact 520-206-3987 or go to pima.edu/adulted
