Over 40 Butler County adults obtained their commonwealth secondary school diplomas through a free Butler County Community College program during its 40th anniversary.

A July 15 ceremony on the community college’s main campus in Butler Township will recognize the 41 graduates’ accomplishment — for some, a celebration three decades after dropping out of high school. Commencement begins at 6 p.m. in the Succop Theater and is themed, “The Beginning of a New Chapter.”

“That reflects the determination, resilience and hope demonstrated by each graduate as they take the next step toward brighter futures,” Samantha Hartle, grant director of BC3’s Adult Literacy program, said.

Possessing a high school diploma represents an additional $11,000 in annual earnings for full-time workers age 25 and older compared with the pay for those without the credential, according to a 2024 finding by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The 41 graduates include eight inmates at the Butler County Prison, where BC3 has instructed its high school equivalency diploma preparation classes for about 10 years, Hartle said.

BC3 also held instruction in 2025-2026 on its main campus, at Pennsylvania CareerLink in Lyndora and online.

The college’s adult literacy instructors, tutors and volunteers teach math, reading and language arts or writing, science and social studies — subjects that must be passed on General Equivalency Diploma or High School Equivalency Test exams to receive the Commonwealth secondary school diploma from the state Department of Education.

Two graduates, Karina McKibbin, 19, of Butler and Robin Hysong, 18, of Chicora, will address fellow graduates.

“I see a new me every day,” McKibbin said. “I can’t believe that I actually did get my diploma. I feel so fantastic about being able to get out of my own way and build a future for myself.”

McKibbin dropped out of Butler Senior High School as a sophomore in 2023. She briefly left Pennsylvania “because there was a lot going on” in her life.

“I couldn’t get many jobs. I didn’t feel like I was part of society. I beat myself up a lot because I felt like I was behind all my peers. I felt horrible all the time. I couldn’t look in the mirror,” she said.

Hysong left Karns City Area High as a freshman in 2025 after being held back three times due to an inability to concentrate on her studies in person or online.

“I had a very negative attitude about school and it did not help me,” she said.

Like McKibbin, Hysong learned about BC3’s Adult Literacy program from a relative, enrolled and needed assistance with understanding math.

“They gave me a lot of encouragement,” Hysong said. “They would make their rounds and help me. They’d sit down with me and be patient with me as I needed help.”

McKibbin commended program instructor Caris Doss for helping her through the program.

“She was positive. She did not make you feel bad if you did not understand things. She was very slow and understanding and explained things over and over if you needed it,” McKibbin said.

The program attempts to help adults earn their diploma as quickly as possible and with “good scores” on their exams, Doss said. It also assists adults with seeking employment and addressing food insecurity and provides an introduction to BC3’s Keystone Education Yields Success program.

Keystone Education Yields Success assists low-income community college students with academic support, career counseling and financial assistance for essentials such as child care, transportation and textbooks to help students secure family-sustaining jobs.

“We try our best to address barriers. A lot of students come in and feel like they have some kind of label as a dropout,” Doss said. “The biggest things we want them to feel when they leave us is encouraged and confident about themselves and their education.”

Hysong passed her final official exam in April, and McKibbin in June.

“I am very happy,” Hysong said. “I’m done. That’s finally a chapter of my life that I don’t have to worry about anymore. I couldn’t have done it without their support.”

“I had no motivation to better myself or to do it myself,” McKibbin said. “I was afraid and ashamed that I did not know anything.”

An average of 64 students have dropped out of the seven school districts in Butler County in the past five years, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Leslie Osche, county commissioners chairwoman, is scheduled to be the featured speaker at “The Beginning of a New Chapter.” Megan M. Coval, BC3’s president, will deliver the keynote address.

Osche is also a member of the Rotary Club of Butler PM that has raised nearly $72,000 — including $20,000 in 2023 and in 2024 — for BC3’s Adult Literacy program during the service organization’s Luncheon for Literacy fundraisers on BC3’s main campus.

The college’s next high school equivalency diploma preparation classes begin in mid-September.

BC3’s Adult Literacy program also offers courses in computers, English as a second language, financial literacy and essential skills.

The BC3 Education Foundation in 2026-2027 will award eight scholarships. Criteria includes students who earned a commonwealth secondary school diploma, according to Bobbi Jo Cornetti, the foundation’s scholarship and development coordinator.

A ninth, the Jennifer R. Pullar Attorney at Law Scholarship established by the BC3 trustee, specifically has a preference for a student who earned a commonwealth secondary school diploma through BC3’s Adult Literacy program, Cornetti said.

Bill Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.