The key to a better future.

That’s what most students brought up when talking about the reason they had decided to go back to school during Thursday’s Adult Learning Center celebration at Brookside Education Center in Albert Lea.

Adult Learning Center Coordinator Penny Jahnke greeted the students at the beginning of the event and told them that their accomplishments were nothing short of “amazing.”

Students attending the event included both those who had just completed their GEDs as well as those who were still working on them, along with students taking English classes and those who had recently obtained their U.S. citizenship.

A number of the students in Thursday’s ceremonies came to the U.S. as either refugees or immigrants from Burma, Myanmar, Cuba, Korea, Vietnam, China, Mexico, Thailand, Ethiopia, Sudan Ukraine and India.

According to Jahnke, 190 students were served in the 2015-16 Adult Learning Center school year, with 20,000 contact hours — or hours spent in classrooms — being racked up by students. Ten of this year’s students became U.S. citizens, she said, eight earned their GEDs and a number of the students were just one test away from receiving their GEDs.She said those students ranged in age from 18 to 74 years old, represented over 10 different countries and languages, and over one-third of them were employed.

“Most of our students were working, raising a family and going to school,” Jahnke said. “We have some of the busiest and most dedicated students.”