MARTINA RIVERA Martina Rivera waited two years for the moment Monday when she walked across the stage as a high school graduate.

Rivera was among 49 Cherokee County adult education students who participated in an adult education commencement ceremony in the Gaffney High auditorium.

Rivera came up one math credit short in 2005 when she finished her senior year at Gaffney High. Her plans to return to school were postponed when she became pregnant with her now 2- year-old daughter Alexandria and year-old son Cordell Crawley III.

While she raised her children, Rivera sought help from the local Department of Social Services (DSS) so she could finish her education and become financially independent.

DSS referred her to Cherokee County Adult Education where she enrolled in WorkKeys classes to earn her SC Career Readiness Certificate.

Rivera completed her high school diploma April 5 and is currently working as an office assistant at DSS.

Rivera is glad she has made education a priority in her life again.

"I'm happy. I didn't think I would be able to do it," Rivera said. "I would like to thank Olga Littlejohn, a case manager at DSS. She encouraged me to go back and finish my education."

Rivera said she hopes her younger sister will soon join her in returning to school.

"I'm trying to get my little sister to go back to adult education and start taking classes," she said. "It was much easier than I thought. The main thing is to pay attention and stay focused on going to school."

Rivera plans to study cosmetology at Spartanburg Community College this fall. She is among 12 students inducted into the National Adult Education Honor Society because of academics, leadership, attendance and dedication towards studies.

Renee Parris, one of the honor students, received a $32,000 scholarship to attend Converse College where she plans to major in psychology.

Overall, 24 Cherokee County adult education students graduated with high school diplomas. The remaining graduates got a high school equivalency diploma by passing the national GED exam - a series of tests in social studies, science, reading, writing and math.

Aaron Carroll had a perfect score of 800 in reading on the GED exam. Andrew Davis had a perfect score in math.

Adult education teacher Beth Martin noted less than 2 percent of students earn a perfect score in math while less than 6 percent get a perfect mark in reading.

A passing score on the GED exam is 2,250.

This year's graduates had an average GED score of 2,630, according to Martin. The national average was 2,497.