An online degree gives a busy father another chance at education
For years, Steven Garcia* wanted to finish his high school diploma. At one point he enrolled at the Lompoc Adult School and Career Center (LASCC) but as a busy father of five with an unpredictable work schedule, never made much progress.
Then came COVID and, along with stay-at-home orders, the opportunity to take LASCC’s online degree program.
“Once they offered it online, it was a lot easier for me, because I could do it from home,” Garcia says.
He had wanted to earn his diploma for a variety of reasons. Although he has enjoyed working as a heavy equipment operator for the past 10 years, he knew a high school degree would broaden his job options. He’d also grown tired of people asking if he had graduated high school, only to have to sheepishly confess that he had not.
“It was a completion thing, just to [be able] to say ‘I graduated high school.’”
Steven Garcia, High School Graduate, Lompoc Adult School and Career Center
“It was a completion thing, just to [be able] to say ‘I graduated high school,” he says.
While attending LASCC, Garcia appreciated the dedication of the teachers and staff. In particular, he singled out his high school diploma instructor, Lynn Maxwell.
“Anytime I needed help, she was always there—just an email or phone call away,” Garcia says.
A longtime teacher, Maxwell arrived at LASCC in 2017 as a tutor, eventually becoming an instructor who says she takes pride in connecting with and motivating her students. She looks back fondly on her time teaching Garcia.
“He worked really, really hard to get his diploma,” Maxwell says. “He’s got a family [and] worked weird hours. He’d come home from working a late-night shift and talk to me, then crash for the rest of the day.”
Garcia says he believes LASCC does a great job of accommodating students like him, who have the packed schedules and unexpected emergencies that come with being a working parent.
“If there’s an issue that arises, they adjust the schedule to your needs,” he says.
Maxwell says she believes the LASCC’s high school diploma online classes help “teach people how to teach themselves” so they can be better equipped for life.
“Out of all my teaching jobs, I think I’ve enjoyed this job the most, because I feel like I have the most effect on somebody here,” she says.
After he finally secured his high school diploma in 2023 at the age of 36, Garcia is now considering branching out in his career, and exploring work in the soldering industry.
He and his family recently expanded, too, by adopting a little girl. Now a father to six children, he says he’s ready to serve as an example that it’s never too late to go back to school.
“When you’re young, you don’t really think about your future, because you’re just kind of living in the moment,” Garcia says. “Whereas as an adult, this is your future and now you have to shape it the way you want.”
*Not his real name. A pseudonym was used at subject’s request.
For more information on the Lompoc Adult School and Career Center’s high school diploma program, visit https://adulteducation.lusd.org/.
Written by Jimmy Flynn
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | High School |
