Sellner gets diploma June 1
Soldier earned GED in 1957By FRITZ BUSCH — Journal Staff Writer
POSTED: May 11, 2008
Article Photos
Lawrence Sellner completed the eighth grade in a one-room, country school in Mulligan Township before family farm duties took him out of the classroom and into the barn and field.
“My dad (Albert) had health issues and it was tough to find hired help back then, so he asked me to come back to the farm,” said Sellner.
He milked cows by hand and grew corn, beans, oats, wheat and flax for seven years before the U.S. Army drafted him in 1957.
His younger brothers picked up on the farm where Sellner left off, while he served as a medic at Bad Kreuznach Army Air Field Hospital in Germany.
In the Army in Germany, Sellner passed five General Educational Development (GED) tests.
On Oct. 7, 1957, he earned a GED certificate from the U.S. Armed Forces Institute, European Branch.
Sellner said he learned he was eligible to receive a high school diploma nearly 51 years after he received a GED certificate after talking about it with Sleepy Eye Public School Board member Lori Braun.
“She said I should show the certificate to Sleepy Eye School Superintendent Arla Dockter. I did that and she said I was eligible to get a diploma,” said Sellner.
He decided not to wear a cap and gown at the Sleepy Eye Class of 2008 graduation that begins at 1 p.m., Sunday, June 1 in the high school gym.
Sellner will be recognized and will come forward for his diploma at the ceremony.
He doesn’t farm anymore, but Sellner stays busy, driving a school bus almost daily over the past 14 years for Sleepy Eye Bus Service Inc.
Undergoing hip replacement surgery not long ago, a blood pressure pill is the only medication he regularly takes.
“I feel pretty good, trying to stay as active as I can,” Sellner said.
To earn a GED credential, test takers must score higher than 40 percent of graduating high school seniors nationwide.
The tests were originally created to help veterans after World War II return to civilian life.
Common reasons for GED recipients without a high school diploma include immigration to the U.S. or Canada; homeschooling; leaving high school early due to lack of interest, inability to pass required courses, mandatory achievement tests, the need to work, or personal problems.
More than 15 million people have received a GED credential since the program began. One in every seven Americans with high school credentials received the GED. One in 20 college students earned at GED.
In addition to English, GED tests are available in Spanish, French, large print, audiocassette, and braille.
Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.
