1.2 million Georgians, 25 and older do not have a high school diploma or GED.
Officials at Albany Technical College are working to lower that number.
Wednesday, community leaders and school officials celebrated the opening of an adult education center in Lee County.
Albany Tech officials estimate that 50 percent of the people living in their 7 county service area don't have a GED.
That's a drain on the economy. This new center will serve more students with one on one attention and it's free.
Each one of these students is sitting in this classroom for a different reason.
"I want to be a paramedic but I want to start off as an EMT," said Chad Royal, Student.
But Chad Royal and the rest of these students know that in order to get where they want to be they need to get their GED first.
"You can't do anything nowadays, you can't even go work at McDonalds without a GED," said Royal.
Nowadays, the majority of jobs to require at least a GED,
"If an individual wants to make minimum wage or at least a living wage they need to have at least a GED," said Linda Coston, Associate VP of Adult Education at Albany Tech.
But officials at Albany Tech want to help as many students accomplish that goal and more.
Wednesday, community leaders and others celebrated the grand opening of their Adult Education Center in Lee County, which will make things easier for hundreds of people in the area.
"The next closest place would be Albany and we are talking 30 to 40 minutes for some of our students," said Coston.
Last year Albany Tech served 186 people out of Lee County, 75 got their GED and about 45 percent of those went on to the next step.
They are hoping this additional spot will allow even more to students to meet their goal and get the attention they need.
"If you have a question she will sit down and explain it to you," said Coston.
But the best thing is, everything is free.
"We do not ask students to pay for any instructions the only cost to the student is the GED is 116 dollars and in most cases we have scholarships to pay for those," said Coston.
So if you are one of those without a high school diploma take that first step and get your GED so you can go on to accomplish big things.
If you want to get your GED you better stop by soon because they are almost at capacity but they have an open enrollment and accept students whenever they stop by.
To accommodate even more students, Albany Tech is looking at additional locations in Smithville and Leesburg.
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