Joy and satisfaction have replaced the fatigue, tears, and the fear of failure that had tormented them for years. Six diplomas that represent a monument to tenacity, a resurgence in the life and school they abandoned as teenagers. All the recent graduates—between 24 and 54 years old—are from Sant'Elia and passed their high school diplomas a few days ago, managing to balance study, work, and family.
“There were days when I thought about giving up, I was too tired and I couldn't take it anymore, but my classmates supported me and I got to the end,” Monica Augusti, Vanessa Quartieri, Romina Columbu, Marisa Mancuso, Desdemona Flutto and Marta Orofino tell us in one voice, agreeing that the best memory of this experience will remain their friendship born in the evening school classrooms.
Some had dropped out of school due to health problems, others due to the arrival of a child at a young age, a few because they had chosen the wrong academic path. Then work, family, and the rush of life seemed to have put education behind them. But it's never too late: their educational recovery began at the Sant'Elia branch of the CPIA, the Provincial Adult Education Center, the public school that, in addition to middle school and Italian language courses, offers a two-year high school program.
Here they studied with determination for two years, overcoming the fear of starting over and their first academic challenges. Thanks to the CPIA, they won the 2022 Gramsci Prize, beating out even the competing high schools. "That was a significant experience because with the prize, we were able to buy books for the third year," say the students—almost all working mothers—who invested their winnings in their future education. After the CPIA, their journey continued in evening high school: five chose the Social and Health major, and only one chose the Hotel and Catering major.
"It wasn't easy. We'd finish classes after 10 p.m., sometimes at 11 p.m. To get home, we'd arrange rides between us or take the bus. We'd get home very late, and many of us had to wake up at 6 a.m. to go to work. There were days when I really thought I wouldn't make it," explain the recent graduates who work as caregivers, cleaners, or office workers.
