Garden City Career Connection Academy

Program Overview

GCCC Adult Learning Center

The Adult Learning Center (ALC) Now "Garden City Career Connection Academy" - has been offering services to students for more than 40 years. The GCCCA houses a state-of-the-art Testing Center and many programs/certifications for adults over sixteen years of age. These Programs include Adult Basic and Secondary Education, Plaza Comunitaria (in partnership with Mexican Consulate), GED, English as a Second Language(ESL), Migrant Family Literacy (MFLP), Transition to College (PSE), Employability Skills, and Computer Skills Courses.

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Abdulfeta, 19 years old, is a very happy, young man these days. He has come from living in a country where corruption is rampant to living in the United States and recently earning his GED (high school equivalency diploma) from Garden City Community College Adult Learning Center. He will be attending college in January.

Abdulfeta was born in Ethiopia, located in the horn of Africa. Their mother raised him and his brother, Ebsa. When Abdulfeta was seven months old, his father fled to Kenya and lived there for many years. When he was able, he came to the United States as a refugee. After several years in the United States, he sponsored his two sons and wife so to bring them to the United States and become the family that Abdulfeta had never had. At seventeen years old, Abdulfeta met his father for the first time when he, his mother and brother landed at the Garden City airport in the USA.

Abdulfeta and Ebsa enrolled in the Garden City Community College Adult Learning Center after they made their home in Garden City, Kansas. The TABE standardized test indicated Abdulfeta needed to be in the high level English Language Acquisition class. He spent one session (approximately three months) in the high level ELA class, post-tested and was able to move into the Bridge class, Level 4. Several sessions and he was able to enroll in the Adult Basic Education where he studied and prepared for the high school equivalency diploma examinations. He took the practice GED tests and scored well enough that he and his instructor felt comfortable about him taking his official tests.

Abdulfeta took the Science exam. No problem, he passed the test. Several weeks later, he took the Math exam. No problem, but when he tried to pass the third test, Language Arts, he failed. Abdulfeta did not let that discourage him. He went back to class and continued practicing. He later tested the second time but again he failed. Abdulfeta would daily revert to Oromo, his native language, after he left school because his mother doesn't speak English and his father speaks little English. Dealing with dual languages made it very hard for him to pass Language Arts.

When he went back to his class, the adult learning center had acquired software programs, Aztec and Career 101. The determined young lad began working with the new software programs with help from his instructor. In no time, he was ready to try again. The old adage 'third time is the charm' was correct for Abdulfeta, as he passed the Language Arts. In two years time, Abdulfeta went from learning English to having a high school diploma.

Abdulfeta feels there were several aides that helped him be so successful in such a short amount of time. "I was able to study at school on Aztec and Career 101, as well as the help I received from my instructors," he said. Abdulfeta added, "I also had a lot of support from my family and friends at the learning center." Then there was his dream. "I am determined to have some education. I want a bachelor's degree."

Adbulfeta started classes at Garden City Community College on January 2018.