(Butler, PA) Butler County Community College employees and a longtime leader of a service organization that has raised at least $72,000 for BC3’s Adult Literacy program are praising the perseverance of a 25-year-old woman who overcame three failed tests to earn the high school diploma she said will provide a brighter future for her two toddlers.
Cheyenne Tribble, of Mercer, was among 29 students who achieved a commonwealth secondary school diploma through BC3 Adult Literacy’s free high school equivalency diploma preparation classes in Butler County in 2023-2024.
“She definitely stands out because of her diligence and resilience,” said Caris Doss, a BC3 Adult Literacy instructor. “Those qualities stood out a lot.”
Tribble said she was an uninspired student and dropped out of Grove City Area High School as a 17-year-old sophomore in 2016, only to later realize “It was a stupid decision. I regretted it.”
“I had heard that so many times, that I couldn’t get the job because I did not have a high school diploma. I felt disappointed. I have two kids. I decided to get my life together.”
BC3’s Adult Literacy program prepares students to take four subject-matter General Education Development examinations that lead to the diploma from the state Department of Education.
Tribble passed the language arts-reading and writing examination in 2017, but did not pursue tests in three other subjects despite being rejected for opportunities to advance in her in-home caregiver field because of her lower educational attainment.
“I had heard that so many times,” she said, “that I couldn’t get the job because I did not have a high school diploma. I felt disappointed.
“I have two kids. I decided to get my life together.”
“Some of our students have families and all these different things that are part of your life when you are an adult. That is something that maybe the average high school student doesn’t have to deal with.”
“A huge blow to their confidence”
Tribble registered as an online student in BC3’s Adult Literacy program in August 2023 and immediately began to study for the General Education Development mathematical reasoning examination, Doss said.
Tribble first took the social studies examination in September and did not pass.
“It’s a huge blow to their confidence,” Doss said.
Tribble passed the science examination on her first attempt in September.
She continued to study to retake the social studies examination and passed on her second attempt in November.
Tribble needed only pass mathematical reasoning to become one of the 3,370 students who, according to Whitney Newhouse, of the state Department of Education, were awarded a commonwealth secondary school diploma in 2023-2024.
Tribble took the mathematical reasoning examination for the first time in December and did not pass.
“I was pretty upset,” Tribble said.
“Caris pushed me to keep going”
Questions on the examination include those in algebra and in quantitative reasoning, such as converting a series of fractions and decimals to the same format and arranging their values from largest to smallest.
Tribble continued to study to retake the mathematics reasoning examination and failed on her second attempt in January.
“I was disappointed in myself,” she said. “I knew I could do better. I felt like giving up all the time. But Caris pushed me to keep going.”
It’s advantageous when students pass the examination on their first attempt, Doss said.
“Data shows that if they don’t, they might just give up,” Doss said. “So taking that math test and failing and failing again was rough. It was hard on Cheyenne. She was definitely very frustrated.”
Doss told Tribble she could not quit, and asked her in April to attend in-person classes in Butler County to intensify her studies for the mathematical reasoning examination.
Tribble works full time providing personal care to individuals in their home and raises son Aiden, 3, and Nova, 2.
“Some of our students have families and all these different things that are part of your life when you are an adult,” said Samantha Hartle, grant director of BC3’s Adult Literacy program. “That is something that maybe the average high school student doesn’t have to deal with.”
Tribble began to attend in-person classes in Butler County, where Doss “sat down with me and showed me everything I needed to do, things I needed to work on and practice,” Tribble said.
“I was super-happy”
On June 7, Tribble said she was feeling “scared with a lot of anxiety” despite “knowing I was ready” to take the mathematical reasoning examination for a third time.
Tribble passed and achieved a commonwealth secondary school diploma.
“I was super-happy,” she said. … “I probably would not have been able to do this without Caris.”
Added Doss: “She told me she was not going to quit. And she didn’t. She just kept coming.
“I know it was hard for her because she needed to figure out childcare. She was attending online. She was attending in person with having children. That really shows her diligence to passing this test and improving her life.”
Tribble is among approximately 580 adults who have achieved a commonwealth secondary school diploma through BC3’s Adult Literacy program in the past 15 years, Hartle said.
“All of that adversity, knowing that you failed a couple of tests, could be extremely discouraging for some people,” Hartle said. “That could be the reason for someone to give up. But she didn’t.”
“Circumstances on any given day can distract us, or make things a bit more challenging. Being able to pull off what she did is absolutely incredible, from one mother to another. She clearly had a goal in mind and nothing was going to stop her.”
Read what other graduates said about BC3’s Adult Literacy program.
Leslie Osche is Rotary Club of Butler PM secretary and a Butler County commissioner.
“For someone who was able to hang in there and try again and again until she accomplished her goal speaks volumes,” said Osche, whose service organization has raised at least $72,000 during six Luncheons for Literacy since 2011 to support BC3’s Adult Literacy program.
“Circumstances on any given day can distract us, or make things a bit more challenging. Being able to pull off what she did is absolutely incredible, from one mother to another. She clearly had a goal in mind and nothing was going to stop her.”
“I know that if I continue with school and get all of this done, I will be able to provide better for my family. If we go to the store and they say, ‘Mommy, I want this’ I want to be able to get that for them.”
The median weekly usual earnings for workers age 25 or older who do not have a high school diploma was $682 in 2022, the most recent information available from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those whose highest educational attainment is a high school diploma, $853.
Tribble was one of nearly 20 students who attended an Aug. 6 graduation ceremony in the Succop Theater on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township for those who completed their commonwealth secondary school diploma through the college’s Adult Literacy program in 2023-2024.
Her future, she said, may be in culinary arts or in cosmetology.
“I know that if I continue with school and get all of this done, I will be able to provide better for my family,” Tribble said. “If we go to the store and they say, ‘Mommy, I want this’ I want to be able to get that for them.”
BC3’s in-person high school equivalency diploma preparation classes in Butler County begin Sept. 9. Visit bc3.edu/adult-literacy
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