Goodwill’s Third Annual Graduation Celebrates Education, Workforce Success, and Second Chances

More than 80,000 Baltimore adults are living without a high school diploma. For many of them, the traditional routes back to one—night school, GED programs, community courses—haven’t worked. Life gets in the way. Childcare, jobs, health challenges, and years away from a classroom can make returning feel impossible.

Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake created the Baltimore Excel Center for exactly those people.

On June 26, 2026, Goodwill hosted its third annual graduation ceremony at the University of Maryland Baltimore’s SMC Campus Center—and it wasn’t just another graduation. The day marked a turning point: the Baltimore Excel Center reached 100 graduates in under three years since opening in September 2023. For Goodwill, it was confirmation that their model is working. For the graduates themselves, it was proof that determination—even when the odds feel long—can carry you across a stage in a cap and gown.

Goodwill’s 3rd Annual Graduation Ceremony: The Big Day!

The June 26 graduation brought together graduates from four programs that sit at the heart of Goodwill’s mission: the Baltimore Excel Center’s adult high school diploma program, and Goodwill’s Workforce Development Skills Training Programs.

Workforce Development graduates completing training in Certified Nursing Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, and Building Maintenance walked alongside their peers — all adults who had worked through hands-on training programs to launch careers in high-demand fields. Together, they represented something larger than individual accomplishments. They represented what becomes possible when people are given a real chance and the support system to make the most of it.

Among the graduation’s most notable highlights was the success of a first-of-its-kind institutional partnership. Since 2024, the University of Maryland Baltimore’s Administration and Finance (A&F) division has enrolled employees in the Excel Center through a pilot program that allows participants to pursue their diplomas during working hours—without losing pay or benefits. That kind of institutional investment in adult education is rare, and we are incredibly grateful for our partnership.

The People Behind the Diplomas

Each diploma carried a different story. Here are four that stood out from the Class of 2026.

Beverly Hammond came close to not making it to graduation at all. After enrolling at the Excel Center, she underwent weight-loss surgery and faced severe complications that left her unable to eat for nearly ten months. Many people in that situation would have stepped back from school entirely. Beverly didn’t. She credits the steady support of her Goodwill coaches, teachers, and fellow students with helping her stay on track. Now she’s preparing to pursue college—with a focus on forensic science and criminal justice.

Deja Simms became a mother before she finished high school, and parenthood changed her perspective on education completely. Where school once felt like something she wasn’t suited for, it became something she owed her son Jakari. With free on-site childcare allowing her to attend class while he was cared for nearby, she completed the high school program in less than four months. She then continued into Pharmacy Technician training and has a job lined up once her licensing is complete. Her longer-term goals include becoming an EMT and eventually earning a nursing degree.

Tyeeshia Cannady almost scrolled past the Excel Center’s Facebook ad. As a mother of five, returning to school meant putting herself first for the first time in years. She enrolled anyway—and then faced one of the hardest challenges of her life when she lost her mother during her time in the program. There were moments she wasn’t sure she could continue. She did continue, driven in part by a daughter who never stopped believing in her. Tyeeshia graduates now with plans to pursue additional healthcare training and the knowledge that she has shown her children what’s possible.

Olivia Cruz Rivera came to the United States from Honduras and spent years working as a teacher’s assistant—a role her colleagues frequently told her she was naturally gifted at. Without a high school diploma, she couldn’t advance. At the Excel Center, she strengthened her English skills alongside her core coursework and reached a goal she had carried for years. She’s now considering business classes and exploring new career paths, with a confidence in her own potential that education helped build.

And on this particular day, one graduate carried a number that made the ceremony historic. Danielle Clubb, age 45, became the Baltimore Excel Center’s 100th graduate. Her story—of addiction, recovery, and rebuilding her life from the ground up—is one Goodwill will be sharing in full. For now, it’s enough to say that crossing that stage represented decades of struggle and three years of extraordinary courage. Danielle will begin a job as a Peer Recovery Specialist this summer.

The Goodwill Support System Behind Every Graduate

None of these graduates succeeded alone. Goodwill built a support structure specifically designed to remove the barriers that most often derail adult learners—because earning a diploma only becomes possible when real-life obstacles stop getting in the way.

Through the Baltimore Excel Center, Goodwill provides:

• Free on-site childcare, so parents don’t have to choose between their children and their education
• Life coaches and career counselors, providing personalized guidance through academic and personal challenges alike
• Transportation assistance, addressing one of the most common reasons adult students stop attending
• Flexible scheduling, with morning, afternoon, and evening options running five days a week, twelve months a year

Students move through an eight-week, competency-based term structure at their own pace. Progress is tied to demonstrated mastery—not simply the passage of time. Every student develops an individual plan built around where they are and where they want to go. Additionally, each graduate leaves with an industry-recognized certification.

It’s also worth noting what Goodwill awards through the Excel Center: a Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)-certified high school diploma, not a GED. That distinction matters for college admissions, employer recognition, and access to higher-paying careers. Research shows that a high school diploma increases annual income by an average of $9,000—a gap that compounds significantly over a lifetime.

Why This Work Matters for Baltimore

Over 80,000 Baltimore adults are still living without a diploma. That number represents not just individual hardship but a citywide challenge—lost wages, limited opportunities, and a cycle that can pass from one generation to the next.

Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake built the Baltimore Excel Center as a direct response to that reality. Rooted in its mission of helping people secure and retain meaningful employment, Goodwill recognized that education is often the first—and most significant—barrier standing between a person and a stable future.

The Excel Center model has a national track record to back that conviction. Originally launched in Indiana in 2010 by Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, the program has expanded to 31 schools across eight states and Washington, D.C., producing more than 13,000 graduates since its founding. Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake brought the model to Baltimore in September 2023—and the demand has remained high amongst students.

Reaching 100 graduates in under three years isn’t just a number. It’s evidence that the right program, designed the right way and backed by the right organization, can reach people that other systems have historically left behind.

What Comes Next for Goodwill’s Graduates—and the City They Call Home

The graduates who walked across the stage on June 26 are already building what comes next—nursing programs, pharmacy licenses, building trades careers, college applications, and, in Danielle Clubb’s case, a career dedicated to helping others find their own way through recovery.

Enrollment at the Baltimore Excel Center is growing, and the momentum behind this third graduating class is building toward a fourth. For any adult in Baltimore who left school before finishing—for whatever reason, at whatever age—Goodwill has kept the door open.