HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Correctional Facility has hit a small milestone. Naomi Driesel got her General Education Diploma and is the first female at the facility to do that.

When the new Correctional Facility opened in August 2015, the mission was to reduce the recidivism rate in Reno County through programs, such as the GED Program.

In 2017, the Reno County Correctional Facility applied for a Charles E. Carey Memorial Grant through the Hutchinson Community Foundation.

Michael Hill Jr., who heads the program, said Driesel put in a lot of hard work to accomplish this goal. He says Driesel’s effort was evident in her test scores. Several of the results showed she tested on a college level. Hill says she had a great teacher as well from HutchCC, that being Melody Nisly. He says Nisly has never been wrong when she says that the young men and women are ready.

Twelve men, and now the first female, have successfully obtained their High School Equivalent while incarcerated.