Helen Woodyard walked across the stage at West Georgia Technical College last month with a GED in hand at 91 years old, capping a journey that began on her 88th birthday and stretched nearly three years. More than 30 family members turned out to watch, and by the time she received her framed credential, she had logged 958.75 hours of classwork to get there.
Woodyard formally received her credential on July 29 during a commencement ceremony at WGTC's Murphy Campus Conference Center in Waco, Georgia, where 91 total students were honored for completing GED, HiSET, or English as a Second Language programs, according to West Georgia Technical College. As reported by 13WMAZ, Woodyard is now Georgia's oldest person to earn the credential in the past decade, per data attributed to the Technical College System of Georgia.
Woodyard enrolled in adult education classes at WGTC in 2024, choosing to start on her 88th birthday after decades of putting her family first. She told 13WMAZ she pursued the GED simply because it was something she wanted, not because she needed it for work. “I did not come back to get my GED to go to work,” she said, per the same report — she wanted to hold the same credential her four children already had.
Faith, Math, and a Commitment to Show Up
At her commencement, Woodyard described the drive behind her persistence in explicitly personal terms. “The Lord started a work in me, and I was willing to spend all the time I had left before I died to finish,” she said, according to West Georgia Technical College. Along the way, 13WMAZ reports she faced math and computer navigation as her biggest challenges, but she refused to let her age stand in the way of finishing.
Woodyard attended classes at WGTC's LaGrange campus in Troup County, driving herself to campus three days a week throughout her coursework, according to 11Alive. Dr. Jennifer Hayes, the lead adult education instructor at the LaGrange campus, said Woodyard maintained a perfect attendance mindset throughout her coursework — never missing a class day and always on time and ready to work, a detail shared in a Facebook video from BeeTV.
Passing It Forward to Other Adult Learners
Before her own graduation, Woodyard spoke directly to an English as a Second Language class at WGTC, sharing her story and offering encouragement to adult immigrants and non-native English speakers working through the same program, according to a Facebook post from Trisha Pomerville. Rebecca Wheeler, dean of adult education at West Georgia Technical College, described Woodyard to 13WMAZ as exceptional and an example of what many people go through in life. “Education does not have an expiration date,” Wheeler said, per the same report.
At the July ceremony, WGTC President Dr. Julie Post presented Woodyard with a framed letter of commendation from LaGrange Mayor Jim Arrington, praising her determination and stating that her journey reminds the community that learning has no age limits, per West Georgia Technical College. Woodyard said her family was happy and proud of her, and she was celebrated by more than 30 relatives at the ceremony.
Free Testing and a Statewide Push in Adult Education
Woodyard's path relied on infrastructure built into Georgia's technical college system. Under the state's HOPE High School Equivalency Examination Grant Program, eligible residents can receive up to $210 covering 100% of testing fees for the GED or HiSET exam, according to the Technical College System of Georgia. Georgia adult learners can choose between the GED and HiSET exams, both offered in English and Spanish at state-designated testing centers, with free prep classes available in person and online, per the agency's guidance on testing options.
West Georgia Technical College's adult education program helps students prepare for high school equivalency credentials while also improving literacy and English-language skills, and the college's career programs span health care, public safety, manufacturing, business, transportation, and technology. Eligible students statewide can access these adult education services at no cost, part of what officials describe as free adult education offered across Georgia's technical colleges.
Georgia's technical college system has seen its adult education pipeline grow substantially in scale. The Technical College System of Georgia recorded a historic high of 47,496 graduates across its 22 member colleges in Academic Year 2025, a 16% year-over-year increase, as statewide enrollment climbed to 159,280 students, according to the agency's announcement. Fiscal Year 2025 scorecard data also showed the system served more than 20,500 Adult Basic Education students and over 12,600 English as a Second Language students statewide, per the agency's enrollment figures.
Woodyard's nearly three-year journey stands as one individual story within that larger system, but it is one that WGTC and state officials have highlighted as emblematic of what the program is built for. For her, the reasoning stayed simple throughout: not a job, not a requirement, just a credential she wanted for herself.
