Pennington County Jail’s GED program sees first female graduate

It’s graduation season and one woman at the Pennington County Jail can now proudly display her GED diploma.

Tate Hoffman is the first woman to receive her diploma through the jail’s GED program. After a month’s work in class and a month working on her own, Tate says it is a dream she’s been working towards for 10 years.

“It means more than I can honestly say in words like I had thought I already lost that,” said Tate. “For me, I’ve come down a really long bumpy road and this is the start of a better, brighter future. Kind of what I get my life back on track.”

Tate has plans to further her education and get a bachelor’s degree so she can become a drug and alcohol counselor. She wants to use her own personal experiences to help better the lives of others.

Tate is a mother of two and though her children could not be in attendance, she says she hopes they’ll be there to see her graduate college.

The program was recently brought back to the jail after a 10 year hiatus and has been active for less than a year now, graduating a handful of students.

According to Correctional Officer Tami Rosser, the program takes a lot of independent study and self-drive. There are two tutors who help those pursuing their GED. From start to finish, the program can take three to four months but depends on how much work the students put into it.