Dr. Perinaaz Gandhi, student Brooklyn Flowers, and Susann Felton
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During Brooklyn Flowers’ senior year in high school her military stepfather received temporary duty orders that moved the family from Mississippi to Fort Meade. Due to a series of events, it was too late to register Brooklyn at the on-base school. She needed an alternative or she would have to repeat her entire senior year, so Brooklyn and her parents decided to pursue a GED via home school and hoped to find a GED preparation program.
Brooklyn passed the English section of the GED on her own but found the GED Math, Science, and Social Studies sections daunting. After many fruitless efforts her Mom contacted the Literacy Council for help in April of 2019 and Susann Felton was asked to do an assessment.
Susann was very impressed when she met and assessed Brooklyn. She found Brooklyn to be bright, sincerely motivated, and willing to work hard. Brooklyn was accepted as a student and has been tutored twice weekly for 2 to 3 hours each session with Susann Felton for math and Perinaaz Gandhi for science. Brooklyn had traditionally been quiet in class and didn’t ask questions for fear of ridicule. But both tutors were extremely impressed by her preparation and the quality of her questions. “She knows what she doesn’t understand and could articulate it. What more can you ask of a great student?”
Having passed both the Science and Math GED segments she had one last test and only a few weeks until her family was scheduled to leave the area. Brooklyn and Susann met every day for two and a half weeks to review Social Studies. On Monday November 18th Brooklyn took and passed her final GED exam with a high 150’s score!
In a celebratory coffee with Brooklyn and her family, Susann and Perinaaz finally discovered how her family learned of the Literacy Council. Her Dad, who is originally from the area, knew of the National External Diploma Program (NEDP) and called Susan Peters. Susan told Brooklyn’s Dad that the NEDP was not for Brooklyn as the age issue could not be waived. But Susan thought the Council might be more flexible and willing to help.
Everyone is delighted. Susann and Perinaaz had an inspired student and Brooklyn can now pursue her dream of attending community college to become a dental hygienist.
