Amanda, 2003 Dallas Can! Academy graduate, realized after graduation that she’d learned more than she expected. Not only did she learn mathematical equations, English literature and scientific practices, she learned that determination was the key to overcoming obstacles. Amanda enrolled at Dallas Can! Not because she was having difficulty with her schoolwork, but because she liked the flexible schedule and accelerated classes. “I wanted to get on with my life and go to college so I could get the job I want instead of settling for minimum wage,” Amanda said. “I had heard good things about Dallas Can! And decided this was the school for me.” Amanda worked towards her graduation day. She enjoyed the staff and the facilities so much that she recommended the school to her boyfriend, Hector, who attended and graduated in 2002. “When I was sick, she , would call me up to find out what was wrong and how she could help,” Amanda said. “My other schools didn’t care enough to do that. They wouldn’t make time for me.” After graduating, she put her newly learned knowledge to use. She used classroom handouts from a job training skills class that she had kept to help guide her through the interviewing process. Those handouts helped her get her first post-graduation job as an officer with a security company. She worked at the security company during the summer while waiting for the beginning of the fall semester at Mountain View College. Amanda had earned a Rising Star scholarship that would pay for the first semester of school. However, a series of neighborhood incidents hampered her going to college right away. ‘There were some really nasty people in my neighborhood who were going around slashing tires and damaging cars,” she said. “All the tires on my car were slashed the day before I started school. When I explained that to the college, they told me that they couldn’t extend the scholarship. So I have to wait to go back to college.” But she hasn’t given up the dream of furthering her education. Amanda plans on returning to Mountain View College within the next year, paying for it herself, to complete the few credits she needs to transfer to Cedar Valley College. Once there she can finish her training and become a veterinary technician. In the meantime, Amanda was hired on at FOX-4 News as a full-time receptionist due to her determination and positive people skills. “The security company I worked for was a sub-contractor to FOX-4,” she said. “The office manager there liked me so much, he hired me to take over as the receptionist.” Ms. Scott said she will always remember Amanda. “She encouraged me to continue to do what I do by her kind words and how she always told me how much I meant to her and how I touched her life. She was never afraid to let people know how much they helped her and how much she appreciated that support,” said Ms. Scott. “Her kindness was much appreciated.” “When I went on my job interview, I kept reviewing the flyers that I had been given at school that told me what to do in an interview,” she said.

Career leads him back to academy once again.

“Crazy!” That’s the only term Hector can utter about his high school experience at Sunset High in Dallas, Texas. Disillusioned by the craze, yet still with dreams of becoming a police officer, Hector made a change. At age 16, he enrolled in Dallas Can! Academy – Oak Cliff. Today, six years later, he has returned to serve as the school’s security officer. “Hector is just one of the hundreds of TEXANS CAN! Students who are thriving in their professional careers,” said Grant East, Founder. “He is why we opened the academies over 20 years ago; why hundreds of faculty and staff devote countless hours to these kids – to help students get a second chance at an education.” Employed with Initial Security for over two years, Hector is married to wife Amanda, also a Dallas Can! - Oak Cliff graduate and the person who originally encouraged him to make the high school switch. Hector knows the school helped him turn a difficult corner. “If I had continued at Sunset, I probably would not have graduated,” he said. “At Dallas Can!, the counselors were always available to talk to me. The staff was nice and helpful. They kept me motivated and gave me confidence that I could succeed.” The flexible hours are also something Hector credits with helping him stay in high school. He was able to start his first job in security while attending Dallas Can! “Hector was a good student, mature,” said April Rentzsch, Dallas Can! Academy counselor. “He was quiet and calm, always with a positive attitude.” After receiving his diploma, Hector spent two semesters at Mountain View College. Although he’s not attending today, he’s still motivated to go further. “Becoming a police officer, it’s still a goal of mine. And I’m still working toward it”, he said. Sounds like the motivation he received at Dallas Can! Is still alive and well. Right now, Hector is enjoying his position, watching over the school that has meant so much to him. “The students look at me and say ‘Hi.’ They know I graduated from the school, and I think seeing me in this position makes a difference to them.”

Having been offered a full athletic scholarship for football, Brian believed he would live his dream of playing at collegiate level, and perhaps even as a professional. That dream, however, ended abruptly due to a serious knee injury. Frustrated, Brian dropped out of high school for awhile. When he decided to go back to school, he knew too much time had passed in order to graduate with his former classmates at his old high school. Not one to give up, he enrolled at Houston Can! Academy Hobby campus to earn a high school diploma. “After I got over my disappointment, I knew I had to do something positive with my life and I needed my education,” Brian explained. “I turned to Houston Can! Academy and loved it! Some of the rules I don’t agree with, but I know they have to have them to keep things in order.” It’s been along time coming, but he is proud to be among the 25 graduating students from the Hobby campus in 2008. “My family is very happy for me and proud that I am graduating high school, especially my Mom,” Brian added. “She is speechless. The day I got my gown and invitations she wanted to cry.” Earning his diploma is not only rewarding for Brian, but is also inspires his younger siblings to do the same, which he knows is very important. “I have two sisters and a brother and they watch everything I do, so I know I have to a good example so they say to themselves, ‘I want to graduate just like Brian did.’” The good-natured, friendly young man says math is one of his favorite subjects because it allows him to brainstorm. He also says the bond between students has been wonderful during his year and half stint at the Can!. Diploma in hand, Brian plans to join the fire department, and has already started working towards earning the 72 required hours to join the volunteer department, and then hopefully get voted into the academy. “I’m looking forward to being in the fire department,” he said. “I love the rush you get when you know that you are helping save lives!”

There was a time when Ana didn’t have much hope for what her future might hold. Her days were filled with severe bouts of depression, sadness and even thoughts of suicide.

Today, Ana is a new mom, wife and a young woman who sees a positive outlook for herself and her family’s future. She credits Houston Can! Academy Hobby campus for helping change her life and providing the foundation she needed to pursue her dream of becoming a registered nurse. “When I was going to South Houston High School, I was always fighting, hanging out with the wrong crowd and not going to class,” said Ana. “I knew if I stayed there I wasn’t going to be able graduate so I could better my life.” Ana, like many at-risk students who attend Houston Can! Academy, just needed an educational environment to give them the hope to become somebody extraordinary despite the challenges they have faced in their life. “I came here three years ago in the middle of tenth grade,” she explained. “The environment has been really good. There haven’t been any fights and the teachers really care and take time. My favorite classes were reading and parenting, which was very helpful, especially since I was about to have a baby and I learned a lot.” Ana found teacher expectations to be high, but that they were always there for support. “I failed the TAKS once the science part, but I passed all the other subjects on the first try,” she said. “The teachers gave us a lot of extensive tutoring for the test which helped. If you want to come here and take care of your business, you can definitely do it here.” Part of the first graduating class of 2008, Ana didn’t wait to get her diploma before starting to take a few nursing classes at San Jacinto College. She says she is up for the challenge of finishing the four year program while juggling school, work and motherhood duties for her son, Julio Jr. “My sister died of AIDS and I wanted to be a Doctor, but that was going to take too long, explained Ana. “I still wanted to be in the medical field so that I can help others, and nursing is a good way to make a difference.”

Ashley was put into foster care as a young girl. Over six years, she was placed in seven foster homes in three different cities and attended 15 different schools. “I’m not saying those schools were bad or that I was getting into trouble,” Ashley said about her decision to attend Austin Can! Academy, “but I needed a school that was smaller, that didn’t have as much peer pressure.” At TEXANS CAN!-Austin, Ashley quickly got involved in extracurricular activities such as basketball and track. In addition to working full-time, Ashley attended classes four hours a day. She talks about the differences she experienced at Austin Can! “I became much more positive about myself. Teachers knew my name. They worked with me one-on-one. People said nice things to me; gave me encouragement. That just doesn’t happen in foster care.” Her transformation was exhibited through her sky-high performance. Ashley earned straight A’s and earned Winner’s Circle awards numerous times. “My friends and my real family encouraged me,” Ashley said. “They knew that I didn’t have to come here … I wasn’t in trouble with drugs or anything. But they are proud of me for doing so well and setting a good example for others.” As a graduate in 2006, Ashley reflected on her experience. “Austin Can! Is a really good school,” she said. “The staff is great. They taught me to stay with it and never give up. And most importantly, it made me a better person.”