Salyersville’s Beverly L. Minix considers herself living proof that one is never too old to learn, especially with the help of initiatives like GED2Job.

Beverly, now 65, had only made it to eighth grade before she left school, eloping from Indiana to Salyersville to get married. The wedding was in a general store.

Beverly was happy being a wife and mother for more than 40 years, but after her husband died in 2001 she stared to get restless and bored. So she signed up with the Title V work program for senior citizens and started working part time as a cook, first for a senior citizens center, then for McDonalds and the local school system.

Beverly liked working, but she soon ran into an obstacle: she was told she would need to get a high school diploma before the school system could give her more weekly work hours. So, at an age when most people are retiring, she went back to finish high school.

“It was exciting for me. In nine months I passed four years worth of grades,” she said.

The course work was tough. Beverly hadn’t had much schooling and she had forgotten most of it, she said, but by February she was ready to take the GED exam. She passed on her first try, thanks to her absolute determination, the patience of her instructor at the Magoffin County Adult Learning Center, and an assist from GED2Job, an Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP) initiative.

GED2Job helped pay travel, meals, and other expenses GED students have to meet while preparing for the exam. GED2Job also provided $4 for each hour the students spent in GED classes, up to 30 hours a week.

“That was a good program for me,” said Beverly, adding that GED2Job helped make it much easier for her to complete her GED.

Beverly is one of the program’s inspiring success stories, according to Mae Shurow, Beverly’s career adviser with Big Sandy Community Action Program, which partners with EKCEP to deliver the GED2Job services.

“I’m so proud of her,” Shurow said. “I know it was hard.”

Getting her GED is just the first step, Beverly said. She plans to attend Big Sandy Community and Technical College in Prestonsburg this summer to begin working toward an associate’s degree. She said she’s very interested in computers.

GED2Job will continue to help Beverly with the costs of transportation, meals, and other education-related expenses while she attends college. For many students, GED2Job also helps pay tuition for college or other career training, but Beverly received other financial assistance for her tuition.

Her family is impressed that grandma just finished high school and is getting ready for college, Beverly said.

“They’re proud. They want to know when I’m going to the prom,” Beverly said with a mischievous smile.

EKCEP’s GED2Job initiative is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

For more information on Workforce Investment Act services available in Magoffin County, contact Mae Shurow at 606-349-2217.