It was one day in the early summer of 1987 at Caldwell High, Columbus, Miss., when Jerome Goodman graduated.

Because of his life’s journey, the road to graduation had sent him to many places before arriving to that day. He had seen many people, lived in several foster homes, and throughout the journey, he had sat in many classes.

By the time he reached high school, lapses in attendance, the pressures of adjusting to new people and places, and classroom lessons broken up by time, would place him behind other students.

“I did graduate from high school, but I had a bad start,” Goodman said. “Growing up, I went from foster home to foster home, and I didn’t get the best education. Finally, once in high school, they put me in special ed.”

The day he walked across the stage to receive his diploma was bittersweet, as he was proud to have persevered and finished the course, but deep inside, he knew that he was more than the words written across his diploma.

“I really didn’t want that,” said Goodman. “I wanted a real high school diploma, so I came to GED class to improve my education. I wanted this all my life.”

Without the diploma he had hoped for, Goodman’s journey over the next 20 years following graduation would continue to be one of many challenges. But eventually, it would be the very circumstances of his life, that would challenge him to seek something greater from it.

“Not having my GED hurts me hard. It seems like everyone has accomplished something in life, and by looking at them, I want something, too,” he said. “I almost had my GED in my hands at one time, about two years ago, but I lost it because I ended up dropping out, going from job to job.”

Goodman moved to the area nearly six months ago from New York and has since then been working two jobs to make ends meet. “But I am tired,” he said.

Looking back to his upbringing and considering the path of others like him, he says that encouragement along the way is sometimes the missing factor of motivation in the life of any student.

“It was hard for me growing up to understand why my mama gave me up, but now I realize that it was because she couldn’t take care of me. For some children being placed in foster homes, it affects their education in school, and for some others, it doesn’t,” Goodman said.

“I think a lot of people with potential were put in special education at that time, that shouldn’t have been. I had a lot of people put me down and said that I wouldn’t be nothing, that I couldn’t accomplish nothing, but if a teacher gave me hope and understanding, and told me that I could do better and achieve more, I knew that I could achieve more.”

It would be here one day, in the early spring of this year, that Goodman, 38, would walk into a new stage of his life.

“It was like I gave up and had no hope, and I started praying to God and I finally realized that there is something better for my life,” he said. “I looked in the phone book and saw the GED courses, and I finally reached Val Tech. When I first took the test, I didn’t score the best, but once I got in the program, I buckled down and my scores went up. I’m looking to graduate in December.”

Today, Goodman uses the experiences of his past to push him toward his future.

“I put the negative into a positive. It’s my motivation. Every negative thing they said, on a test, that pushes me to do positive, and I know I’m always going to come out on top,” he said.

“I had to buckle down and put my mind to it and pray to God that He work it out for me. It’s been a challenge, and you’ve always got to keep your mind focused, because it’s like, if you don’t go after it, you will end up losing your dream.”

As Goodman looks to attaining his GED as well as other goals in his life, he holds a strong faith in God, while sketching the map toward his future, one day at a time.

“I hope that getting my GED helps me to remember that I can do all things through the Lord, and I hope it opens doors for better jobs and better opportunities,” he said. “When I reach my goal, I want to look into going into the service. That’s my next goal that’s always been a dream of mine, but I’m going to let God do the deciding. I would love to see what it’s all about, see the challenge, and explore different places that I’ve never been.”

So now, 20 years after high school — one score later — Goodman has learned from the tests of his journey, and encourages other adults toward greater achievement in education and life.

“I would encourage other adults to get their GED, because if you’re able to see someone else doing things in life, things you hope for, you can, too,” he said. “And even for those who may have been labeled special ed, you can do better — there is no giving up. There is a solution to every problem and ways to improve our lives and skills. We just have to find it in ourselves and in our heart.”

He continued: “My skills ... I’m a good, hard working person, and very good with my hands, and I like helping people. I’ve got a wonderful teacher in there who gave me the confidence I needed, but others didn’t. I know that I can’t give up. I came this far. A label is not going to stop me.”