For Johnny Odoms, the road to a better life began just before he decided to go back to school and earn his high school equivalency certificate.

Odoms, a Jackson native and the 12th of 13 children, had bounced around from Port Gibson, to Louisiana, to Natchez, to Georgia — experiencing the death of both parents along the way, the loss of his mother during high school leaving him without a direction.

At the urging of family members who saw potential in someone who had been an honor roll student in elementary school, Odoms enrolled in the Adult Education program at Hinds Community College in September. With a GED certificate assured and his sights set on Hinds’ welding program in the spring, Odoms, 21, became richer for his achievement in a hurry — thanks to a new program for those who go back to school.

“I encourage anyone else to take a look at this and learn from the example,” Odoms said Thursday as he became the first recipient of a $500 cash award from the Education Pays program for successful GED students, enabled by a partnership between Mississippi’s largest community college and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation.

It is the first of 100 payouts to come from an initial $50,000 commitment by the foundation, named for the founder of Ameristar Casinos and co-chaired by his son, Ray Neilsen of Vicksburg who is also the chair of the casino firm’s corporate entity. Further rewards for successful GED students from Warren County will depend on additional funds being made available, said Beth Goldsmith, executive director of the foundation.

“We do it because we care,” Neilsen said during a ceremony at the Vicksburg campus. “When we think of a GED, it’s important in so many ways.”

Odoms credited his teacher, Tonia Erves, in pulling him through the program.

“She really helped me,” Odoms said. “Without her, this couldn’t be possible. I have a future now because of this program.”

During his comments to about 100 gathered in Hinds’ Multi-Purpose Auditorium, Neilsen recounted a professor during his second year in college who inspired him to finish.

“I was able to read, but I wasn’t able to write. He opened my eyes to the value of education,” Neilsen said. “Because of his caring and compassion, it helped me build my self-esteem.”

“In Warren County, we have roughly 49,000 residents, and 23 percent don’t have their degree,” Neilsen said. “That’s something that we want to change.”

A similar GED program was put into place for Ameristar employees in 2004 when Neilsen was general manager. Employees there who enroll in a high school equivalency program have the classes paid for by the casino, plus test fees. Individual check awards for successful students at Ameristar are now up to $1,000, Ameristar Vicksburg public relations manager Bess Averett said.

With about 400,000 working-age Mississippians without a high school diploma, getting adults to continue their education is “a major economic development issue,” said Hinds president Dr. Clyde Muse.

“Close to 65 percent of all jobs out there require skills beyond high school to be successful,” Muse said. “(Education Pays) is a great deed in terms of helping people be motivated,” Muse said.

Hinds’ six campuses in central Mississippi offer more than 170 academic, career and technical programs. The GED program offers 10 class sections at the Vicksburg campus and two sections at Ameristar Casino. Eight tests were scheduled in the course for the Fall 2009 semester. As of this week, 115 students are enrolled in the program in Vicksburg, with 143 potential students on a waiting list, according to Hinds’ office of community relations.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com