March 25, 2026
GED Success Story: Claudia Lyons-Harrison
Thomas Edison once said, "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." This sentiment most certainly rings true in the success of Claudia Lyons-Harrison, a recent GED® graduate. In June, she was able to obtain her high school equivalency diploma with the help of her teacher, Ami Warner, at the Richlands Career Works Center in Southwest Virginia.
Claudia began her GED® credential journey in May of 2023. She made great strides towards this by passing three out of the four GED® tests in just a few weeks’ time. She passed the Reasoning in Language Arts test, the Social Studies test, and the Science test quite easily. However, when it came time to take the Math GED® test for the first time, things did not go exactly as planned, and Claudia did not pass. This failed attempt took a toll on her self-confidence causing her to give up on her objective for a time, but things would eventually turn around.
In January of 2025, Claudia realized that she had certain educational goals that she wanted to achieve and in order to do so, she needed to try again to obtain her diploma. She decided that giving up was not an option anymore, so she returned to an adult education class taught by Ami Warner. Claudia stated that Ami worked with her to gain the math skills she needed to successfully pass her final GED® test and gave individual instruction to help her overcome the struggles that sometimes come with having ADHD and autism.
By coming to class three days a week, Claudia was able to establish a routine and gain the structure she needed to thrive. She developed friendships with her classmates and leaned on them for support. When asked what valuable lesson she learned from her GED® experience, Claudia replied that, “The best lesson was to just keep going, persevere, and believe in yourself.” With her newfound confidence, Claudia has made the decision to chase her dream of becoming a criminal psychiatrist. She has signed up for classes at Southwest Virginia Community College and is on her way to ultimately obtaining her first college degree.
Thomas Edison once said, "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." This sentiment most certainly rings true in the success of Claudia Lyons-Harrison, a recent GED® graduate. In June, she was able to obtain her high school equivalency diploma with the help of her teacher, Ami Warner, at the Richlands Career Works Center in Southwest Virginia.
Claudia began her GED® credential journey in May of 2023. She made great strides towards this by passing three out of the four GED® tests in just a few weeks’ time. She passed the Reasoning in Language Arts test, the Social Studies test, and the Science test quite easily. However, when it came time to take the Math GED® test for the first time, things did not go exactly as planned, and Claudia did not pass. This failed attempt took a toll on her self-confidence causing her to give up on her objective for a time, but things would eventually turn around.
In January of 2025, Claudia realized that she had certain educational goals that she wanted to achieve and in order to do so, she needed to try again to obtain her diploma. She decided that giving up was not an option anymore, so she returned to an adult education class taught by Ami Warner. Claudia stated that Ami worked with her to gain the math skills she needed to successfully pass her final GED® test and gave individual instruction to help her overcome the struggles that sometimes come with having ADHD and autism.
By coming to class three days a week, Claudia was able to establish a routine and gain the structure she needed to thrive. She developed friendships with her classmates and leaned on them for support. When asked what valuable lesson she learned from her GED® experience, Claudia replied that, “The best lesson was to just keep going, persevere, and believe in yourself.” With her newfound confidence, Claudia has made the decision to chase her dream of becoming a criminal psychiatrist. She has signed up for classes at Southwest Virginia Community College and is on her way to ultimately obtaining her first college degree.