TAMPA, Fla. — For nearly two years now the Polk County Public School System has offered a GED Program in Spanish.

Luzeneida Vega is a teacher in the program and says it can take anywhere from 30 days to a year to complete, depending on the student’s flexibility to attend. Vega says she admires the student’s dedication to finish their education.

“I did have one to go to actual Polk State College. She wants to be an engineer. It just makes me very proud, and I support them in any way that I can because we need this,” Vega said.

So far, 12 students have earned their GED degrees and are seeking trade jobs now.

One of those students is Yaneli Tornes, who graduated with her GED in 2022.

She’s now seeking a degree that she’s dreamed of becoming an electrician.

It’s the hands on and problem solving that comes with being an electrician, that Tornes was drawn to. “I used to work in construction before, doing framing, but now I want to work something else,” she said.s

When she first started electrician school, the four-way connection process would take her a full day to complete, but now takes her about twenty minutes to complete.

But for Tornes, every minute counts. Because it means she’s that much closer to getting her degree as an electrician.

“When I came to this country, I was older, so I was more than 16 years old, I couldn’t start school,“ she said.

School seemed to be just a dream for Tornes, who had two young children and spoke very little English.

She tried taking GED classes in English, but without any help she ended up dropping out. That’s when she heard about Polk Public School’s new Spanish GED course.

“It’s hard trying to understand everything in English, so that’s why I decided to do it in Spanish, because for me it was easier,” she said.

Tornes says although she faced many challenges, getting her GED has helped her continue to dream big. She later enrolled in ridge technical college’s electrician program.

Tornes is only one of two women in the program right now.

Once she gets her electrician degree, she’ll be part of the less than 50% of women in the career field nationwide, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For Tornes, receiving her GED was more than just a piece of paper but a symbol of how hard she’s worked.

”I feel excited about what I’m doing. I feel proud of myself,” she said.

Tornes says she hopes her motivation will spark a light in others who feel like school is out of reach.

To learn more about the program, call (863) 419-3060.