MADISON, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) — Hundreds of people in southern Wisconsin now have their GED after a graduation ceremony Thursday at Madison Technical College.

They're not high school teenagers, instead people as old as 60, some with kids, and some who came from other countries.

“I want to start something different in my life, and I want to make my dream for me and my family too,” Maria Bustamante said.

Bustamante, 50, has seven kids. She's a former migrant worker who used to live in Laredo, Texas and worked in Wisconsin during the summer. Then she moved to the state full-time.

“I came back every year, back and forth, and I stayed the last year and start to study something to make my dream,” Bustamante said.

She worked hard to raise her family before she started working hard to get her education.

“I want to do something different because the factories I work in very hard. I work seven days a week, 12 hours a day, and I want to make something different of my life for me and my family,” Bustamante said.

She wants to open her own salon one day. She's continuing her education in cosmetology school.

Stephanie Barbary also graduated Thursday night. The 42-year-old mother was once homeless.

“I'm happy I'm at this point, but I am relieved I got to this point, but I'm ready for what my future has to hold,” Barbary said.

Now that she has her GED, Barbary plans to continuer her education in a business administration program.

“I want to open my own business, I want to do something with helping homeless people in the community,” Barbary said. “I've been homeless, I can see there's a lot of people out here that need help, it's not just people that are on drugs, it's people from all different backgrounds, it's people that just need help.”

Bustamante and Barbary are two of about 300 graduates from the Madison technical college GED program this year. Bustamante is one of about 70 in a program geared specifically for migrant and seasonal workers.

The school's administrative manager calls the graduates inspiring.

“They're able to overcome so many different obstacles and barriers and figure out a way to overcome those things and be successful,” Kevin Foley said.

Because of that he said GED graduation day is one of his favorite days.

“This is our favorite day of the year to see this. It's really a culmination, and it's one of the reasons why we absolutely love working at Madison College,” Foley said.