| Profile of Self-Sufficiency |
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Terri Lynn Rich, a resident of Dublin, could have taken an easier path, going from agency to agency letting others solve her problems. Instead, she chose to take responsibility for her life and the lives of her three children by using the resources of the departments of Technical and Adult Education, Human Resources, and Labor to overcome obstacles and become self-sufficient. In a few short weeks, she learned through difficult experience the value of education as she prepared to become part of Georgia’s workforce.
Terri, 28, is a 1998 Heart of Georgia Technical Institute graduate. She began receiving TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) in January. By June, she had passed her GED exam and participated in job readiness and computer classes, and completed work experience. Only then did she land a job. Terri’s is a story of determination born of need and hope that grew out of despair. She became a single mother in October 1997 when her husband abandoned her and their three children, then ages five, seven, and eight. Lacking skills and a high school diploma, she searched unsuccessfully for a job. After two months, she turned to the Wilkinson County Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) for help. |  Terri Lynn Rich |
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Her case manager sent her to the Heart of Georgia Technical Institute Wilkinson County Adult Education Center for GED preparation, basic computer classes, and job readiness workshops. Studying with Carol McNeill, adult literacy instructor, prepared Terri to take and pass the GED exam. At the same time, she took a McNeill’s computer class and participated in job readiness workshops conducted by the New Connections to Work Program.
During the same period, Terri entered the DFCS Work Experience Program. After completing the GED, she went to her Work Experience site in the mornings and attended the computer skills classes in the afternoon. At the end of ninety days of work experience at the Professional Nursing Services in Gordon, the owner hired her. In May, Terri was honored at the Wilkinson County DFCS recognition banquet as Outstanding Adult Literacy Student and Work Experience Employee. At GED graduation, she received the Wilkinson County GED Award presented to the Wilkinson County resident who achieved the highest score on the GED Exam at Heart of Georgia Tech GED testing center. Nominated by Director Dahlia Wren, SDA 31, she was named Georgia’s Adult Customer of the Year. She expressed emotional satisfaction when the commissioners of the state Department of Technical and Adult Education, Department of Human Resources, and Department of Labor presented the award to her at the November 19th Workforce Development Conference banquet. The path Terri followed was full of obstacles. Raised by her grandmother and an aunt, she knows little about the parents who deserted her. She quit school in the tenth grade, got pregnant at sixteen, and got married. Her three children were born in less than three years. Her husband’s truck-driver job took the family to Wilkinson County. When she was abandoned, Terri was left without a support system or family. At the GED graduation, her guests were her three small children sitting on the first row of the auditorium. In the job readiness workshops, she was enthusiastic and an active participant, according to Mark Palen, New Connections Director. Her dedication to meeting the goals she set is evident in her class attendance record. "She attended 100 percent of the classes in the six week computer course." McNeill said. "She is very capable, highly motivated and not afraid to try new things. Moreover, she has a very pleasant personality and gets along well with other people. She is quite modest about her accomplishments." "If it hadn’t been for all of the people and agencies who provided support and opportunities, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this." said Terri. Terri went to work December 1, 1998 in the Heart of Georgia Technical Institute Adult Literacy Office as a data entry clerk. She plans to enroll spring quarter in the Office Technology program. She has learned that her best resource for competing in the workforce is her education.
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