Ullin Man Hopes to Inspire others by Obtaining G.E.D.

By SHANNON WOODWORTH

ULLIN - Kelly Godfrey is not ashamed to tell his life's story. He hopes somehow that it will inspire others. Godfrey, 32, a high school dropout and recovering drug addict, has seen a darker side of life. But this week he is smiling brightly as he both earned his General Education Development (GED) diploma and graduated from drug rehab on the same day.

"It's a good feeling," Godfrey said. "I have come a long way, but I know that I have a long way yet to go."

Godfrey, a resident of Ullin, grew up as a preacher's kid. His father and mother, he said, are good people who have a strong faith in God. But Godfrey said his attention was always elsewhere. By the time he was a junior in high school, he was running with the wrong crowd and experimenting with drugs. By the end of his junior year, he quit school.

Godfrey struggled to find his way for the next several years, and in 1998 finally left southern Illinois and the drug scene he had become accustomed to for a job in Texas. He said he made good money there, and even fell in love and had a child.

But his life eventually reverted back to drugs. He divorced and came back to southern Illinois leaving his child behind.

"This is when I felt like it was time to get serious," Godfrey said. "I love that little boy of mine. I looked at my life and I wanted to do something to make him proud."

So Godfrey enrolled in drug rehab. He also enrolled in GED classes at Shawnee Community College.

"I have been determined to turn my life around," Godfrey said. "You can't imagine how it made me feel when I was able to call and tell him that I completed my schooling."

Godfrey is now taking a close look at his options. He has decided that he will either enroll in welding classes at Shawnee Community College or join a branch of the military.

"That's what this GED does for me, it gives me more opportunities for my life," Godfrey said. "I am not certain which direction I will take at the moment, but I am certain of what a good feeling I have inside after being presented this diploma."

Godfrey's is just one of dozens of inspirational stories told each year in the Shawnee Community College District by individuals who complete their GED, said James Darden, dean of adult education/alternative instruction.

"People can turn their lives around and we are seeing how effective a GED is in helping them do so," Darden added.

There are more than 15,000 individuals in the Shawnee Community College District who are 16 years old and older and not currently enrolled in high school who do not have a high school diploma.

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