from Chattanooga Times Free Press, December 13, 2010. By Pam Sohn
Staff photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Dec 12, 2010 Raymond Hunter Jr. shakes hands with those on the stage during a graduation ceremony for participants in the Center for Adult Education's Re:Start program. He was among dozens of students who earned their GED and received diplomas at UTC's Patten Chapel on Sunday.
"There were lots of smiles and not a few tears Sunday afternoon at Patten Chapel on the UTC campus as 40 walked across the stage to receive their high school general educational development diplomas.
Mia Upshaw's grin was contagious as she talked about her decision to go back for her diploma at 19. She plans to go on to college classes to become a paralegal.
"I knew I needed to do for my son," she said.
Her fiancé, Travis Jackson, was smiling through his tears.
"I'm so proud of her," said the 21-year-old, wiping his eyes. "Nobody thought we could do it. And I'm going to graduate [with a GED] in May.
Throughout the chapel, graduates posed for photos and smiling family members made videos of the moment with cell phones."
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