It took Irene Gutierrez two years to get a driver's license.

Couldn't pass the 25-question written exam.

She could read it. Just couldn't understand it.

So imagine what she was up against in the General Educational Development (GED) exam, which measures proficiency in science, mathematics, social studies, reading and writing. It was what stood between her and an opportunity to earn a high school diploma.

Gutierrez, who would eventually learn she is dyslexic, kept taking it. Again and again.

For 12 years.

On Wednesday, however, the wait ended. Gutierrez strolled - or, rather, glided - across the small stage in the community room of the George W. Hawkes Central Library, shaking the hands of Library Director Cary Siegfried and Deputy City Manager Gilbert Perales, and moving on to a bear hug embrace of Glory Dalton, Literacy Coordinator of Arlington Reads.

"I can't tell you what this means to me," Gutierrez gushed, her eyes filling with tears. "I just can't. . ."

During the give-a-shout-out portion of Wednesday's GED Celebrations, which presented high school equivalency diplomas to about 24 students who have gone through the Arlington Reads program, many tried to put into words their struggles in not just tackling the GED but it the trials and tribulations of life that had put them behind in the first place. Forty-five students were eligible to attend the celebration.

Byron Alexander, a father of five, dropped out of high school to work to keep his family afloat and never returned. Now a truck driver, he has provided for his family for years but the "high school thing" nagged at him, especially as his own kids zipped through high school and moved on to college.

"Some people do it to get better jobs or secure better lives, you know," Alexander said of the GED pursuit. "I did it for my kids. I had to let them know that you just can't give up like that."

No one knows that better than Gutierrez, who has four children, ages 12 to 18, and works a full-time job.

"She never gave up," said Dalton, who watched Gutierrez over the years come to classes at Arlington Reads, arriving early and often staying late. Her children joked about getting up at 3 in the morning and seeing mom's face buried in books.

What happened with Gutierrez is also a lesson in pinpointing dyslexia, a learning disorder where people have difficulty reading fluently and with accurate comprehension despite normal intelligence.

"I was really agitated by the whole thing," said Gutierrez. "I kept asking everyone, what's going on? Why is everyone going forward and I'm not?"

Once they learned of the dyslexia, she was afforded accommodations for tests. Questions could be read to her or she could listen to a tape recording, which allowed her to rewind and review questions.

With that extra help, "She passed every subject - and with flying colors," said Dalton. "We knew something was wrong. She knew the material."

On Wednesday, Gutierrez held tight her 12-year-old daughter who, by the way, was six months old when mom started her education quest.

"Wow, can't believe it," she said. "I did it."