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My name is LaTasha Davis-Gomiller and I am a student at Austin Can! Academy. I am 20 years old and have a loving baby girl named Talaya and a wonderful husband, Milton. If it wasn''t for my husband being by my side and pushing me in the right direction, I wouldn''t be standing on that stage. I work full-time and am a full-time mom as well. I grew up in foster care, and it wasn''t easy. I made the best out of it and became a better person. I wasn''t always the easiest person to get along with, but with the right people and being a little scared straight, I got my life together and was given a blessing from God, my beautiful family. All my family helped me get to where I am today, I love them and thank them for everything that they have done for me.

I was trying and trying to find a school that would fit my work schedule and my budget. I couldn''t go back to public school because it was going to take me longer to get my diploma and get where I wanted to be in life. I tried an online school, but the cost got too much, so I dropped out. I was driving by Austin Can! one day and I saw their sign with a phone number, so I called and came in. I did what I had to do to get enrolled and start classes. I was a little scared because I didn''t know what to expect because I was due to have a baby soon, I wasn''t sure they would accept me. They did, and I give much love and thanks to Austin Can!.

What made me come back after having Talaya was the fact they had a home school for mothers that are trying to get their diploma until they can return to the campus. The teachers and advisors are so helpful and understanding of people''s situations and take their time to help any student in need, instead of turning their backs on them.

Austin Can! helped me to understand that I don''t have to be scared to ask for help, that''s what they are here for and I thank them for that. They helped me achieve one of my biggest goals in life and I am so proud to be where I am today. Thank you so much Austin Can! for everything that you have done for me.

For my future I want to go to college and become a social worker to help young children and teenagers that are in similar or different situations that I have experienced in my life. The simple point of having someone to be there and showing them that someone cares and they aren''t in this alone would be what I want to do with the rest of my life.  

I want to thank every teacher at Austin Can! for helping me to become a high school graduate!!!!

Erica has a beautiful smile, is very bubbly and very positive. She graduated in June and has been accepted to Texas A&M. She went to a large public high school before enrolling at Houston Can! Her grades were good but her mother had a baby and needed Victoria to help babysit so she couldn't attent school. Her mother also became ill, had several surgeries and a long recovery period. Victoria’s grades began to slip. 

A friend told her about Houston Can! so she enrolled because she could attend school a half day and babysit her new baby sister the other part of the day. Erica said the past few years during high school were a very, very difficult time for her. She is very close to her mother and was worried about her. And she was also caring for a newborn infant. When her mother returned home from the hospital she required a lot of bed rest and Erica was responsible for her care, too. 

Without the schedule at Houston Can! and the support of her teachers and advisors she said she doesn’t know what she would have done it. Erica is very excited to have been able to graduate from high school and is really looking forward to moving to College Station this August. As a result of her life experience, she plans on studying nursing.

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!”

Christian and his father have known many closed doors.

After a medical discharge from the US Army, Christian’s father began a heating and air conditioning business. For a time, the business grew, and things were going well.

Christian’s mother, however, had developed a worsening drug habit. His worried father often woke up in the middle of the night, fearing he would find her dead from an overdose.

“My father,” Christian says, “gave my mother an ultimatum: it was either us or the drugs.

“She chose the drugs,” he remembers.

When his mother made her choice, Christian was all of eight.

A month after she left, Christian’s father encouraged him to visit her at his grandmother’s home, where his mother had been staying. Though deeply disappointed in her and not wanting to see her, he went. He spotted the family vehicle in the driveway of his grandmother’s house, but when he knocked on the door, no one answered. Then, he spotted a window curtain move and plainly heard his mother’s voice: “Don’t open the door.”

Shortly thereafter, Christian’s father got sick with pancreatitis. He was weakened and unable to work. Christian had to learn to care for his father, cooking small meals and helping his father to and from the restroom.

Christian’s mother, meanwhile, gutted the family’s savings account.

With no savings and no income, Christian and his father eventually saw the electricity cut and the water shut off. Baths were taken using gallons of water purchased from the store, meals were cooked by the grill, and clothes went unwashed. Christian’s homework had to be done while the sun was still up. He was bullied at school for his unwashed clothes.

Thanks to the generosity of their local Catholic church, Christian and his father received enough money to turn the electricity and water back on. His father could pay for the medical treatment he needed. Christian and his father felt stronger in their faith, and they continued to enjoy cooking out on the grill—which had become a bonding activity for them.

During his junior year, Christian was doing well. He was keeping up with his studies and excelling in a welding program. However, their home of many years was falling apart. The landlord, unwilling to cover the costs of repairs prescribed by the housing authority, locked Christian and his father out of their home. They could not afford the deposit on a new place to live.

For a month, Christian and his father were homeless, and they slept behind dumpsters. When they did find an apartment, it was in bad shape. Need forced them to take it.

Two more obstacles stood in their way. Following multiple ignored requests to address the apartment’s safety hazards, Christian’s father tripped on the ripped carpet in their living room, injuring his knees and losing some mobility.

“I’d had enough,” Christian recalls. He felt that, because of his family’s limited resources, they were being overlooked. Motivated to right a wrong, he made a close study of the lease: the landlord was in violation of the Fair and Equal Housing Act. Christian took action. Thanks to his advocacy with the housing authority, Christian’s father’s medical expenses were covered by the property management’s insurance provider, and a state inspector made an inspection of the entire property.

Still there was the second obstacle. Because he had missed too many days of school during their month of homelessness, Christian faced repeating his junior year. It was a blow.

Friends told him about Texans Can Academies and its accelerated curriculum recovery. When he and his father came for enrollment, however, they thought they had encountered yet another closed door—the school required uniforms, and he and his father could not afford it. They prepared to walk away.

Thanks to the school’s Whole Student program, however, Christian’s uniform was paid for. The same day, the school’s principal met with Christian and his father and took them to lunch in the cafeteria.

“That meant a lot to us,” Christian says.

The very next day, Christian was able to start school and get back on track.

From then on, Christian experienced the school’s generous welcome. When food was scarce, he availed himself of the school’s food pantry, and, in the classroom, he found the academic support he needed.

“The staff at Can have been great. They have shown me so much hospitality. My history teacher, Mr. Rodriguez, helped and encouraged me. He was very straightforward and set high expectations for me.”

“Because of the Can, I didn’t have to repeat my junior year,” he says.

Christian graduated from Texans Can in June 2019, and, taking advantage of the GI Bill and a scholarship made possible by proceeds from an annual community luncheon, has enrolled in St. Philip’s College’s pre-law program.

Christian and his father continue to enjoy cooking out on the grill together, and, with faith in God, they both look forward to a future of open doors.

“I am thankful the Can was there for me. I know I have a lot more to give, and a lot more to achieve.”

My name is Dwayne and I've been attending Dallas Can! Academy for two years now currently enrolled as a sophomore. Education is very important to me. When I was kicked out of my home school, I didn't want to give up. I began researching other schools. While I was doing my research on what school I was going to attend, I looked on the website of Dallas Can! Academy and read some of the success stories that were presented by other students, I said to myself "I want to be part of that school". 

Dallas Can! appeared to have a strong support system that would help my educational needs. Education is important to me as well as many others, for many of us this is our first accomplishment when receiving our high school diploma. This is just one step to help us to become much closer to achieving our goals. 

My mother always told me that "a real man has standards". Most boys my age are on the streets doing stuff they not suppose to do, to me we all need to be in school so we wont end up like them and to make a name for ourselves. We shouldn't only go to school for a high school diploma and then give up. I think we should at least give college a chance, go in see what it is like. 

At home in my room, I have a list of goals hanging on the door and everyday I wake up and read it to see what steps I need to take to get closer to my goal. But first I need to graduate high school. I think it's important for all students to have a list of goals. It doesn't matter what goals you have, just don't stop chasing them. After you finish college make sure your goals are still in order for internships and various job interviews. 

Like George Washington Carver said "Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom". And with no education what doors can you open?