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William Stickney Pittsfield Adult Learning Center Graduation
By Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
04:48AM / Saturday, June 10, 2023
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The 43 graduates of the William Stickney Pittsfield Adult Learning Center (WSPALC) walked proudly in their decorated black caps to receive their diplomas on Thursday evening.
 
Families, friends, faculty, and staff gathered in the Taconic High School auditorium to celebrate the graduates who earned their adult diplomas or passed the General Educational Development Test or High School Equivalency Test.
 
Throughout the night speakers shared their stories on how their time at the center gave them the confidence and drive to achieve their dreams.
 
The word "dropout" should not be stigmatized; it is just choosing to follow a different path, graduate Evonne Bryce Cormier Barnett said. 
 
Barnett said due to anxiety, depression, and borderline personality disorder, the high school experience felt overwhelming and stressful. So she chose a different path and graduated from the center the same year she dropped out of Pittsfield High School. 
 
The center made her feel supported and confident that she would be able to attain her goals. 
 
"I knew that there were bigger and greater things for me. I still am continuing to get to those things and doing what I need to do in my future to become successful in my own mind," Barnett said. 
 
"No one else can tell me what 'successful' is for me."
 
Adult Diploma Graduate Victoria D. Hunter echoed these comments adding that after withdrawing from Taconic High School no matter where she went, whether it was school or in life, she felt or was told that she was not "awesome." 
 
At the WSPALC she learned that she was capable and hopes to pursue education so she can inspire and encourage others the way some educators did for her. 
 
WSPALC Alumna Laura Cabrera shared this sentiment adding that the center provided her a role model and mentor that showed her that hard work pays off.
 
After attending the center she learned that she was the only one responsible for making her dreams come true. 
 
Cabrera is active in the Berkshire Community, being a founding member of multiple organizations including Latina413,  Amor A Nuestras Raíces (Love to our Roots, and Yo Soy Arte (I am Art). She was named one of Berkshire Magazine's 25. 
 
Cabrera said she remembers seeing her mother struggle to write her name without an opportunity to get an education. 
 
Cabrera's mother volunteered and taught Cabrera the importance of caring for the people around her and helping others with respect and kindness. Her mother's example is what drove Cabrera to pursue a career in human resources. 
 
She said she knew at a very young age that in order to move forward with her life and follow her mother's lessons she had to move to the United States otherwise her future would be restrained to getting married and having kids
 
So Cabrera left Veracruz, Mexico to create a better life for herself and her family. 
 
Graduate Patricia McFall said she was also told that she would never be able to go back to school. 
 
Despite these remarks, she continued to work hard through challenges including surviving domestic abuse and raising her three-year-old as a single mother.
 
She said she attended the center under the recommendation of the Elizabeth Freeman Center. 
 
McFall intends to attend Berkshire Community College in the fall with the hopes of becoming a therapist so she can help others who feel isolated, she said.
 
Awards: 
 
The William Stickney Scholarship Award: 
Nicole Leigh Bouchard, 
Victoria D. Hunter, 
Patricia Maria Mcfall
 
The Linda Hermanski Award:
Reina Lisseth Esperanza 
 
The Roselie Jean-Louis ALC All Star Award:
Patricia McFall
 
Distinguished Alumna Award and Remarks
Laura Cabrera
 
Graduates: 
 
*Adult Diploma Program Graduate
 
Quinn Blackledge-Hawley*
 
Evonne Bryce Cormier Barnett*
 
Amma S. Blaisdell
 
Ash Bonavitacola
 
Nevaeh K. Borden 
 
Nicole Leigh Bouchard 
 
Eric Carter 
 
Paulina Marie Currier
 
Erica Jasmine Davis*
 
Rebecca Ann Renee Derouin 
 
River William Dunsay 
 
Reina Lisseth Esperanza 
 
Taylor Rose Foley 
 
Melissa I. Forte 
 
Damon J.B. Foster
 
Jasmine Mariah Froebel
 
Cody M. Garanzuay 
 
Isabella Marie Girard 
 
Brianna Rose Goodrich* 
 
Marissa Chelsea Grogan 
 
Elizabeth Ivanna Hammond
 
Seth C. Horton, Jr.
 
Victoria D. Hunter *
 
Candace Elaine Hyder 
 
Roselyn Koffi
 
Nathan James Loftus
 
Fernando Javier Lopez 
 
Patricia Maria Mcfall
 
Arlo R. Merelle
 
Ashton Damien Murch
 
Jaden Elan Ouellette
 
Carmen Maribel Perez Tenecora
 
Gabriel John Paul Ali Perusse
 
Charysh Noel Diamond Pettijohn*
 
Jinx R. Pratt
 
Kristian Pridgen 
 
Shane T. Scipione
 
Lubia S. Snow 
 
Tabitha J. Stanton*
 
Emily Elizabeth Thiede
 
Austin Michael Twing 
 
Adrianna Evangleina Urquizo
 
Savanah N. Wheeler
 
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