Meet Carol

It took an enormous amount of will power for Carol Gookin to walk into the Adult Learning Center in 1989. Carol had dropped out of school and married at the age of sixteen. The three children she raised were on their own, and two events – Carol’s sister telling her to “finish it up” and then seeing an ad for the Adult Learning Center in the paper – gave her the courage to walk in the door.

Ethel Tipping was Carol’s teacher. Ethel had been a public school teacher for more than forty years. After her husband’s death, Ethel became a teacher of adult learners, ushering countless students through the GED Test. Carol studied with Ethel and passed the GED Test with one of the highest scores of any student that year. She couldn’t believe it. Carol had been out of school from age of 16 to 48, and now she was graduating from high school.

Carol’s relationship with the Adult Learning Center has continued for the past 23 years. She was hired as a paraprofessional and is also the Center’s data entry specialist. She attributes her success in tutoring students with her ability to relate to their lives and their struggles. Because the hardest part for her was walking in the door, Carol makes it a point to be the person who registers new students, puts them at ease and calms them down. She reassures each new student that she will be fine and the hardest part is over.

Carol’s favorite event of the school year is the annual GED graduation. The graduates’ stories, full of emotion, bring back familiar emotions.

The Adult Learning Center is celebrating 40 years of Opening Doors of Opportunity. Since 1972 the Adult Learning Center has helped more than 120,000 adults earn their GED diploma, learn to speak English, become skilled employees, and work knowing their children are provided safe, nurturing care.

Tune in to NESN Daily Live at 10:00 and watch Nashua’s own Jamison Coyle report on the day’s sports activities.

Jamison’s mother Kim, who is the Adult Learning Center’s business administrator, credits his ability to adapt to new situations, present himself with self-assurance, and communicate convincingly, with his experiences in the Center’s childcare programs. 

Jamison began attending Early Childhood Adventures when he was just a few months old and Kim returned to work. It was here that he got an early start on sociability and confidence. Throughout elementary school, he went to the School Age Adventures after school program, and summer camp. “I remember looking up to the counselors, especially Brad Page, and wanting to be like them.” Jamison decided he wanted to be the kind of person that kids look forward to being with. When he was old enough to be a counselor himself, Jamison became that person. “I couldn’t believe that I was getting paid to play!”

After graduating from Nashua High School and Syracuse University, Jamison’s first job was in Dalton, Georgia, as a reporter. He had to wait tables just to pay his rent, but it gave him his start.  Next he was offered a job as a sports reporter in Terre Haute, Indiana, at a local CBS affiliate. He didn’t really want to go to Terre Haute, but the job included health insurance, so he accepted. It turned out to be a fortuitous choice, as he met his wife, Leah, who was playing basketball for Indiana State. Next came Wichita Kansas, and finally, the offer from NESN. “It’s my dream job and the best part is that it’s close to home and my family,” says Coyle.  “I get to cover the teams I grew up on – the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics – and meet the players but I try not to be star-struck. Reporting is my job.”

Coyle admits that reporting on TV can seem glamorous, but he got there by moving to places he didn’t want to go, and by not giving up. He credits his parents with giving him the opportunities to succeed. “They made sure I had what I needed and now I’m happy to be back home.”