Car Donation in Connecticut

Filling out the Apply Texas application with students is a day-to-day task in this job. Armandina reminded me one day of how big of a difference the seemingly simple task of filling out a college application will make in a student’s life. I met with Armandina a few times in the semester to help her figure out what she’d like to do after high school. She decided that she would like to attend community college and she came to me to assist her in filling out her Apply Texas application. I sat with her as she filled out each page then when she submitted her application I told her “Congratulations! You’ve just applied for college….and you’ve been accepted!” She looked at me with wide eyes and asked “For real?!” and then gave me the biggest hug. She completed the Accuplacer exam when a representative from Palo Alto College administered the test on our campus.

The following week after she completed her Accuplacer, the Can! transition coordinator and I met her at St. Philip’s College to connect her with services and to show her which offices she needed to go to in order to register for classes and manage her financial aid. Armandina seemed rather overwhelmed and in shock that she was at college about to enroll for classes. She finished her credits in October and has registered for the spring semester. I had the opportunity to work with her for just a short time, but I’m really proud of her for following through with plans for a bright future.

Armandina plans to study nursing in college and become a Registered Nurse. She says she wants to become a nurse to help others. She was inspired by her mother who was diagnosed with diabetes and Armandina helped her with insulin injections. This made her realize her passion for taking care of others.

Congratulations Armandina! We are so proud of YOU!

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.”

Frank heard about Houston Can! in a commercial and thought it sounded like a good choice for him. His school was too large. He was making good grades but he said his friends were not a good influence on him. Some of the teachers at his previous school tried to talk him out of leaving – but he knew he needed to get away from friends he had there. He lives near the Hobby campus but thought it would be exciting to go to school in downtown Houston. He rode the bus to school and back every day. He said it was a lot of fun and really unusual to go to high school downtown. He really loved going to school there.

Her father was an aggressive alcoholic who beat his wife and children on a daily basis.

Her mother would try to escape and run away with the children in an effort to keep them safe, but Anna Marie’s father always found them.

When she was five-years-old, her father strangled her mother with a belt until she lost consciousness, and then he kicked her baby sister across the room.

Anna Marie saved them by calling 9-1-1 and her father was put in jail for a short period of time.

Once again, her family relocated with the hope of starting over without him. Unfortunately every time they tried to escape he would always find them.

So the drunken cycle continued, along with the assaults.

After coming home from middle school one day, she found her mother sobbing in the bathroom from yet another beating. Anna Marie called the police and this time her father was deported.

From then on, pain and anger was the only thing that veiled the hidden burden of her past.

“I was a bad kid when I was younger,” says Anna Marie. “I got in trouble, went to jail, and was ordered to go to behavior class.”

At 15, she became a mother and moved in with the baby’s father. However, he was not supportive of her continuing her education and was not responsible with the baby.

So Anna Marie dropped out of high school.

She then moved back in with her mother and siblings, but her mother gave her an ultimatum: go back to school or go to work.

It was a decision of a lifetime. Anna Marie had watched her brother give up his dream of going to college so he could help support the family, but she knew she wanted more for her life - so she enrolled at Dallas Can Academies.

Anna Marie has been at the Can Academies for two years now and is on track to graduate in 2018.

She says the flexibility of attending the school’s half-day sessions made it all possible.

She didn’t have to choose whether to support her family or get an education.

With guidance from her teachers and advisor, she continues to research colleges with nursing programs. Her goal is to care for elderly patients and to make a better life for her daughter and the rest of her family.

“I’m proud of myself for getting out of a bad situation,” says Anna Marie. “Without Dallas Can, I would not be in school. I would never have gone back.”

^{Student name has been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.}

His original plan was to take the credits he lacked and transfer back to graduate with his peers; however, once he completed his credits, he decided to stay and graduate. "It was so much easier to focus because the class sizes are so much smaller and teachers have the time to help you one-on-one and I was tired of all the drama" said Gabino. He is on target to graduate 1 year from now.