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St. Joseph Adult Education and Literacy graduates, from left to right, Joseph Ward, Darci Vestal, Sierra Travnichek and Natasha Sutton, line up before the ceremony Friday night at the Scottish Rite Temple.

Bicycle horns, chants and celebratory whoops filled the air Friday night as nearly 50 students crossed the stage at the St. Joseph Adult Education and Literacy graduation.

Those students, plus 288 others who didn’t participate in the ceremony, received their GED or high school diplomas from Benton, Lafayette and Central high schools after completing a varying number of classes and tests at the Ruth Huston Learning Center.

Alferd Williams, a 70-year-old man who has appeared on talk shows with Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres because he’s a first-grader at Edison Elementary School, stressed the importance of education in his commencement speech.

“I didn’t have the opportunity to go to school, and this is why I’m here tonight,” Mr. Williams said.

Mr. Williams said he hoped someday to attend his own graduation ceremony.

Alec Hart, who received his diploma from Benton, said he was grateful to the people at Ruth Huston for giving him a second chance.

“It’s been an ongoing process — I had a rough time my freshman year and didn’t want to just give up,” he said.

Mr. Hart’s mother, Kimberly Ide, was on hand to see her son in cap and gown and said it was worthwhile but overwhelming, as the graduation comes with so many other changes, including her son moving away.

“It’s a lot for me to deal with,” Ms. Ide said. “... It’s always been the two of us.”

Amber Hastings, who received her GED, said the

four-month process of obtaining the degree was not as hard as she had expected. Ms. Hastings, who now has her eye on college and eventually a job as a pediatric nurse, also gave a lot of credit to her teachers at Ruth Huston.

“They’re awesome — every one of them. They’re just absolutely perfect,” she said.

Betty Kimberling, Adult Education and Literacy director, said about 60 more diplomas were earned this year than last year. The graduates also were younger.

“The young kids, we’re trying to catch those students before they’re out of the high school range because we want them to have either an alternative program high school diploma or a GED,” Ms. Kimberling said. “... We’re trying to educate our work force so they can go on to the next step.”

Besides the impact on financial stability and work force productivity, Ms. Kimberling said a common reason she sees students come back for their diplomas and GEDs is self-esteem.

“There’s something within them that is lacking, and they know it,” she said.