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LEWISTON — The student speaker at Lewiston Adult Education graduation June 6 urged his classmates and the audience to think of themselves as strong as an elephant to take on new challenges.
The group of 27 students received high school equivalency degrees in a ceremony in the Lewiston High School gymnasium.
Joao Massela was the student speaker at the ceremony and stressed the importance of determination.
“Being strong and determined means facing the problem, working to solve it rather than crying and looking for the easy way,” he said. Massela said that his middle name, Zau, means “elephant,” and he takes inspiration from it.
“I want you to be like an elephant too. I would like you to see yourself as strong, no matter the obstacle in front of you. Think that you can make it and never give up,” he said.
Massela, who immigrated to the United States from Angola and speaks Portuguese and French, had to learn English before trying to get his high school certification through Lewiston Adult Education.
He thanked his teachers, including Laurie Champagne, Mark Schlotterbeck, Don Roux and Amy Hatch for helping him. Massela also won the Courage to Grow Award from Central Maine Community College.
Esther Kilongo won the Maine Adult Education Association Award. The winner of the award gets free tuition for one course at CMCC in the fall semester.
Instructor Roux received recognition for his role in assisting with the 5,000th GED-HiSET graduate at Lewiston Adult Education. Roux helps students prepare before they take their high school equivalency exam.
The students received their high school equivalency by successfully taking the HiSET exam through Lewiston Adult Education. The HiSET has replaced the GED in Maine and the students received lessons and academic support to prepare. Lewiston Superintendent Bill Webster spoke at the end of the ceremony and encouraged graduates to continue to persevere as they pursue their goals.
PHOTO: Students speaker Joao Massela, right, speaks to the audience at Lewiston Adult Education graduation June 6, as Lewiston Adult Education Director Bill Grant, left, and Adult Learning Center Coordinator Laurie Champagne, right, listen. (Submitted photo)
