A Student’s Perspective: The Importance of Adult Education

Hi my name is Braden Wallen. I will tell you a little about myself and how I acquired my High School Equivalency and my plans for the future. I was raised in a little town about 50 miles from Bloomington called Brazil. My parents divorced when I was two and I moved back and forth between my Mom’s and Dad’s house a lot when I was growing up. I did end up living with my dad most of my life which was great because I was really close to my father. He was the fun dad that played video games, billiards, and would take you to arcades. My life was great until I got into High School and that was when my dad’s health started to deteriorate. When I was starting my junior year of high school my dad could barely walk and was on oxygen so I decided to drop out and take care of him. He ended up passing away of a heart attack over three years ago and on top of my father passing away, which was the hardest time of my life, I lost my house because I didn’t have the money to pay for the bills. I just lost my father, my house, and I had no money. I ended up bouncing from house to house between friends, family, and homeless shelters. I found a homeless shelter in Bloomington that I ended up moving to. When I got to Bloomington I only had five changes of clothes and a backpack and that was it. I knew I had to start a new leaf in life and I started to go to HSE classes and that is where I met Sheila Butler. She was the teacher of the classes and I didn’t know at the time, but meeting her was one of the best things that ever happened in my life. Sheila helped me get my HSE in under five weeks but she also pushed me to get my Work Keys and got me ready to take college classes. I would have been grateful just for that alone but she took me into her house so I didn’t have to live in any more homeless shelters or on the streets. With Sheila’s help I now have a job at Cook Medical and have my own apartment with no more government assistance. Now that I have my own place I can go to Ivy Tech and get a college education. I would like to thank Sheila for all that she has done for me. I would like to thank her husband Prince Butler for taking me to work every day and cooking wonderful meals. I would like to thank Rob Moore for helping me get a job with Cook. I would like to thank my friends and family for all the support they have given me.