LANSING, MI — A collaborative group of policy leaders gathered at Lansing Community College to speak to an audience of policy leaders and decision makers. They presented their stories on navigating the educational process and multitude of challenges they have faced staying in school. This is Part I of II. The students share their stories in this edition and in Part II, we will talk to the policymakers about the event and their views.
Sharon Wheeler
East Lansing High School
2006 graduate
HSDCI graduate
A lot of people have certain circumstances, weather family problems, bad decisions, and many more reasons that have made high school graduations seem impossible. My name is Sharon Wheeler, and I have had a great deal of events and experiences that have led me to where I am today.
Growing up, I had to be a part of and witness things that no child should ever have to deal with. My family wasn’t the ideal “all American family.” My father was an alcoholic and my mother had anger control problems. They would fight all the time and it would get so loud at night that the neighbors would call the cops. I would wake up just in time to witness one of my parents getting arrested. This would occur a few times a week, until my dad got in trouble one too many times.
Around my 7th grade year, he went to court and was sentenced to Alcoholics Anonymous classes, had to be on a tether, and had to take a breathalyzer every time he came home. In the end, he became sober but then became dependant on pills. When that happened, we started receiving the eviction notice after eviction notice and we began to move around from that point on.
When I got into high school, I used it as an escape from my home life. I attended East Lansing High School where I joined the color guard squad and the wrestling team to get more time away from home. I even got a job the summer after my sophomore year working at Mcdonalds on the weekends to get away from the chaos, and pay for my own things because my parents never had any money.
My parents weren’t to supportive in my schooling; they got me to school late every day and never attended anything for me involving my activities or education. Doing so many activities and moving around so much made doing homework quite impossible. I didn’t do so well the first 2 years of high school but my thoughts on it were that I could make it up later. I got a babysitting job during the weekdays over the summer so I did not have to be with my family and their problems the whole summer, and to start getting an income.
By the time I was in the eleventh grade, my family had grown so much that my parents together didn’t make enough money to support us. I was the oldest of seven. At one point, we had so little money that my parents were unable to pay the bills so we were evicted once again. This time, however, they were unable to find another place for us to live. We would sleep in our van, sometimes at our grandparent’s house when it would get too cold, and at one point, we even lived in our cousin’s living room. My mother got fed up of not knowing where the next place we would be sleeping was, so she signed us up for a homeless shelter.
For roughly the final 6 months of my junior year, all 9 of us lived in one room at a homeless shelter in East Lansing called The Haven House. I had then joined the gymnastics team and was doing relatively successful in school. But living at the shelter, they had a curfew for the children living there. They had to be in the facility by 8:00 p.m. and in the room ready to go to sleep by 9:00 p.m. I was unable to go to any afternoon gymnastics meet, attend any school dances or functions, and couldn’t hang out with any of my friends without signing out and giving them an address, and telling them what time I was coming home. Each child also got only one night to stay at someone else’s house; even if it was family or not, only one night. This made me want to act out, so I began to not care about my own education.
The beginning of my senior year, my parents were finally successful in finding a new home, but it was in the city of Onondaga, about 40 minutes from East Lansing and I refused to change schools so late in my high school career. So, I moved in with a friend so that I would be able to get to school on time and be more successful realizing that getting a good education is the only way to be successful. I did the best I could that year and did very well with my grades. I then bought my cap, gown, and class ring preparing for graduation.
When it came time to discuss with my councilor about my plans for after high school, she informed me that I did not have enough credits to graduate. I was one credit short of receiving my diploma but had just enough credits to walk with my class.
I went in to meet with my principal to see if there was any way I could attend classes for one semester after graduation to receive that one credit I needed for my diploma. She told me that the school changed their policies and that they did not allow part time students anymore. She then began to tell me that the ONLY WAY for me to receive that credit I needed was to attend summer school and she gave me a pamphlet explaining the summer school program.
Reviewing that pamphlet while sitting in her office, I noticed that to take one credit of classes, it would cost me over $400. I told her my situation with my family and our money problems and actually began to cry. She did not seem to have advice for me and as I left her office, I felt lost with nowhere to go.
A few days after the graduations ceremony and me walking with my class, I came to Lansing Community College looking for a program to help me further my education. Just as I asked a secretary at the Administrations building, one of the founders of the High School Diploma Completion Initiative, Stanley Chase, was walking by. He overheard and informed me that LCC did not have a GED program but they had recently started a program that allowed young adults that did not finish high school to attend college and earn high school credits toward their diploma at the same time. I thought that it sounded like a great opportunity and it wouldn’t hurt to try.
Mr. Chase then walked with me to the High School Diploma Completion Initiative office and helped Margo Whalon (the lead support at the time) get me all the information I needed to enroll in the program. I needed to fill out the application itself and get some information from my former high school. According to the rules of the program, you have to be between the ages of 16 and 19 – which I was – and have been out of school for 6 or more months. Because I had only been out of school less than a month, the program required my home high school to “sign off” on me… Meaning the principal of the high school had to write a note to the HSDCI officials saying “I release so-and-so into the High School Diploma Completion Initiative” and then sign it. It took over a month to get the proper paper turned in and then I finally had everything I needed to get into the interview process.
While waiting for the interview date to finally come, I took the assessment tests, filed a FAFSA, and turned in papers for my TIP (Tuition Initiative Program) scholarship that I had received, preparing myself to pay in full for my classes and maybe get a little extra money to myself.
I was interviewed by Maggie Sayles and Stanley Chase. I was extremely nervous. When it was my turn and I sat down at that desk in front of them, they assured me that everything would be okay, that I could relax. They made me laugh a little trying to make me more comfortable. They informed me of everything that would happen throughout the rest of the interviewing process and throughout the semester. They also told me that the program was absolutely FREE… (To someone like me, coming from where I have been in life… that sounded amazing.) They then asked me some questions and asked me if I had any questions. They helped me feel like I knew everything I needed to know in order to start the semester but the decision of whether or not I was accepted was still yet to be made.
For the next few days, waiting at home for that phone call was the hardest I can recall ever going through. Racing to the phone every time it rang, checking the voice messages 43 times each day, and freaking out if I did not get to answer the phone. It was stressful. When Margo finally called me and told me that I was accepted into the program, I felt that I was going somewhere in life now. I decided I wasn’t going to goof off and mess up what I had going for me!
I attended orientation toward the end of August 2006 and began classes that fallowing week. Having no job, I tried to find one but the only places I seemed to be getting any response from was babysitting. I decided then I was going to put all of my focus into my studies instead. I did very well, like I had planned, and received 4.0’s in all of my classes that semester. I received my high school diploma at the graduation ceremony in December of 2006. (Technically, I did graduate ‘with my class.’)
The fallowing semester, I made sure I got everything taken care of that I needed to start classes on my own: grant money, TIP scholarship, etc. I took classes again as a full time student. As I was walking between classes, I ran into my old WRIT117 instructor from the previous semester. She asked me if I would be interested in helping out the current and future WRIT117 students in the High School Diploma Completion Initiative program. She informed me that it was a job and I would get paid for it. Still not having a job, I was very interested. I went into the tutoring services office, spoke with the people in charge and did the interview process with them. I began my job working with tutoring services in February of 2007.
I became the Supplemental Instruction Leader at Lansing Community College for the High School Diploma Completion Initiative Program’s writing 117 class. And now, I am the Supplemental Instruction Leader for all Writing 117 students at the college. I am also a certified tutor. With my employment, I get all of my classes’ tuition paid for up to 12 credits a semester.
Thanks to that and the moral support I now receive from my colleagues at tutoring services and the HSDCI program, I have been a full time student ever since. My goal is to receive my associate’s degree in Office Administrations and get a good job that will give me control of where my life is headed.
The main staff of the High School Diploma Completions Initiative program now, Tracey Taylor, Gina Beaudry, and Kevin Madison, are some of the most welcoming and friendly people willing to give just about every person that walks through that door a second chance. Programs like this have made a great impact on many people’s lives. It gives them all the support they need to go for that second chance and helps them to be successful!! Without a program like this, I know I would have never made it this far.
Ky-Wane Jelks
Saginaw Public School
My name is Ky-Wane Jelks. I entered the HSDCI Program last fall after moving to Lansing. I planned to one day practice law, and become a judge. I also want to become a registered nurse, and maybe in the years to come I will go back to school, and become a doctor. I did not complete high school due to gang involvement. That was one of my biggest issues while trying to complete high school in Saginaw. Aside from that, other problems were being insubordinate, late, and fighting. I began to realize it was holding me back, but by that time it was to late; they had already kicked me out of school for the remainder of the school year.
Not all of my past that is bad is bad. The gang affiliation has turned out to be one of my strong points. That is a trait that has helped me get ahead in this program. When Ms. Tracey saw that I was putting forth the effort she considered me a role model student. It is hard at times to help keep my peers in line, but knowing that helping is keeping them on the straight and narrow makes it worth while. That leadership role has also kept me in line, so that I don’t fall off my square.
The one thing that separates college and high school is that if you do not want to go to class you do not have to. Life is full of choices, but it is up to me as a mature young adult to decipher which decision is best for me.
I am very thankful for the HSDCI Program. Not only is it helping me get my high school diploma; it is helping me get a head start on my career. It has introduced me to the college environment, so that when I transfer I will already have had some experience. Going to college has always been one of my goals no matter what, and this program has provided me the opportunity to realize that goal as well. Starting next fall this program may be allowing me to play basketball for the college, which is another goal as well as trying to go to the NBA. I have learned to adapt to school without my friends/associates having any effect on my work, and also how to manage my time wisely.
I am very appreciative of this program, because it has given me the chance that others didn’t/don’t have. In my situation I didn’t choose to do nothing; it was my surrounding that kept me in trouble. If I had to recommend a program it would be this one. You are killing two birds with one stone. To be surrounded by people who care and want to see you succeed is a great feeling. This program has many benefits. It’s like a turning point in my life. It was time to mature and become the young adult that myself others expected me to be. They showed me what it would be like to pay for my tuition, how committed I must be to my education if I want to succeed, and what its like to have my whole life in my hands.
Jesus Bonilla
Holt Public School
My name is Jesus Bonilla. I dropped out of Holt High School in February of 2008 with nowhere to turn. With a baby on the way, came many responsibilities. A full-time job was one of them. I worked at Sammy’s lounge for a while and it was very hard work. The money earned took care of me, but at the cost of my education. Absences; due to the lack of sleep, and missed school work, put me far behind. I was getting no where fast and needed alternatives greatly. I believed I could go back to school and finish, but I soon learned my lifestyle was very different from others around me. Everyone was focused on sports, parties, relationships, and afterschool activities, while I felt the need to get my work done and leave. I was 6.5 credits from graduating but, my options were unrealistic. The first decision was to finish out the year and come back the next fall semester. My second was to pay $1,500 for summer school and virtual classes. I decided to get more hours at work. After months I was laid off my job to the harsh reality of job seeking. I soon learned not many employers would hire a young Latino with no high school diploma, or GED.
The greatest challenge I faced was overcoming this hardship, and going back to school. Due to the transition of semesters to trimesters, I really had no chance of graduating anytime soon. I would repeat my entire senior year over until; I discovered there was one alternative not thought of before. A counselor referred me to The High School Diploma Completion Initiative program and later I met the fabulous director Tracey Taylor. I was given the privilege to join after a thorough interview; with two objectives on my mind; to receive my high school diploma and get a degree.
This stage of my life has opened many windows of opportunities. I learned knowledge is limitless, to where and how far it can take me. I have the ability to make change, I wanted to make a difference and be somebody. I am becoming active in organizations at school that help the community and me at the same time. The program has put me on track to become a certified nursing assistant, and later I am planning to study environmental engineering to become an ecological biologist. Both careers in my opinion are the jobs of today.
I walked into the HSDCI program with no hope or options; but, with the help of the director, lead support, and case manager, I stand with many. I have a chance to attend the greatest schools in the country, with endless opportunities. If legislators were to fund more programs and develop the ones already in affect, more students could contribute to the world’s economic need of change, as long as the students meet a certain criteria. The High School Diploma Completion Initiative believes in student success.
Jordan Kamins
Holt Public Schools
Hi my name is Jordan Kamins. I am from the High School Diploma Competition Initiative program. I am here to tell you how fortunate it is to have program like the HSDCI. High school was not for me. I hated the early morning wake ups. The long seven hour days were horrible, and the environment was not comforting. I ended up getting dropped from high school with only three weeks left in my senior year and only one recommended class needed. I was an out of control seventeen year old. I had no path to where I wanted to go in life, and my priorities were completely out of line. Shortly after I lost the chance of getting my diploma from Holt high school, where I have attended school all my life I became an expecting mother. I did not know what to do, I was lost, and I kept telling my self I need to do something now and it needs to be fast before it became too late. My parents ended up stepping in. They offered to get me a counselor, because of the fact that I was to stubborn and I did not have any intentions to listen to some one try and tell me what to do I turned down the offer quite a few times. After the chance of giving in to my parents, they found me an amazing counselor named Michelle Sanchez. Michelle was not your typical counselor; she kind of became a close friend to me. She would pick me up and we would go job hunting, apartment hunting, she helped me find a pediatrician for my expecting son, she also helped me set up a bank account, and most importantly she introduced me to the HSDCI program. She than began to help me get my life back on track. The high school diploma competition initiative has been a great experience. It has turned my life completely around. I love the class set up, the environment is exactly what I need. I love how Tracey, Gina, and Kevin take the time to get to know each and every one of their students individually. They know what kind of background you came from. They knew what kind of struggles your are going through, they know the goals your trying to achieve, and they motivate you all the way! The HSDCI program is like a family. Everyone is so helpful and so positive. During high school I never knew what it was like to get good grades, I never knew the feeling of getting a good grade on a test I didn’t have a clue on how to study. Coming to the HSDCI program completely changed that around. I am now four pointing four out of five classes, and have not received lower than an 85 percent on a test. It’s a good feeling. Life is good, and I am finally walking down the right path. The HSDCI program lead me to a career I have always had in the back of my mind; Health Unit Coordinator. For the past two semesters I have been working on getting my high school diploma along with my Health unit Coordinator certificate, and I feel so good about my self I have never been proud of myself until about 3 months ago when I realized how well I was doing and how fast I was able to get my life back on track for myself and 3 month old son Tre. Thanks to the HSDCI program, Tracey, Gina, and Kevin.
Gabriell Jennings
East Lansing High School
High school is full of team spirit and higher education. However it’s also crowded with peer pressure and decisions that come with a full plate of consequences. In that environment, a student is given the freedom to choose between positive and negative decisions. High school presented me with a huge variety of opportunities. In equal measure it presented many occasions for missteps. In order to save my future from any destructive consequences my parents stepped in with intentions to save me from myself. They decided to place me in a different situation in the form of homeschooling. After being absent from the school scene for two years, I lacked the credits needed to graduate with the class of 2008. That point in my life was the end all, be all. My intelligence was too high, to fall so short. Nevertheless my stupid choices landed me in that situation. I was so concerned with the thoughts of others that I began to slip off of my own game. I let that defeat me and I figured if I couldn’t graduate with my class, what was the point of even trying to finish school. So yes, I continued to go to school but I didn’t put forth any effort. I figured it was pointless.
I was thinking for the moment and not how it would affect my future. The first month of summer came and I was distraught, my friends were going off to college and there I was…four years of my life, wasted…and literally nothing to show for it. Although I lacked the drive, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I planned to get an associates degree from LCC, then transfer to Michigan State University major in Business Administration and minor in Early Child Development. My planned future seemed unshakeable. High school, College, Big Bright Future. Almost as if you’re trying to get from the first floor of a building to the second floor. Easy right, just take the stairs or the elevator provided. But without my high school diploma it seemed as if it all came to a daunting stop. The stairs were suddenly under construction and the elevator was temporarily out of service. I had no idea what to do next.
I heard about the High School Diploma Completion Initiative program at Lansing Community College through a school counselor after we tried to asses other options, and I was quite hesitant to apply. I feared that it was too good to be true and that I wouldn’t be accepted. However out on a limb, I went and pursued this new opportunity. Before being accepted I remember sitting in the interview when the director asked “If you’re not accepted into the program, what are your plans” I took a deep breath and fought back tears and responded I’ll go back to my traditional high school. When in the back of my mind, I thought, “No I can’t! I’ll have to become a hobo, because I don’t have the guts or the will power to hold my head high for an extra year”
The HSDCI program has been a great alternative resource for me. It has allowed me to attend school in a mature college setting while receiving High school and college credits simultaneously. In addition I receive invaluable instruction and guidance from the support staff. The program directors accommodate you in every way possible, so much so, that I was in tune with the college curriculum as if I hadn’t missed a beat. Being apart of this program really helped with the issue of self esteem. It did wonders to build my confidence. Not only did I not complete high school, but here I am doing college work.
This chapter in my life has taught me so many important lessons. I’ve learned that if you fall short of your goals, it’s never too late to try again. One of the main lessons I learned from the HSDCI program is that your future is affected by the people you surround yourself with. If you surround yourself with destructive people, you can expect a destructive future. However if you surround yourself with the people from the HSDCI program, and others who want to see you do well, you have a greater chance at success. The HSDCI family is full of people who realize your potential and
push you to strive for greatness. If you hang around them long enough they tend to rub off on you, in the sense that you too will start to want more for yourself. Although in the beginning I felt as if I was down for the count, these educators are always in my corner and are capable of helping me get back to the top.
If I could pass on one piece of wisdom from my experience, it would be to live for yourself, think for yourself and just be yourself, pardon the cliché. You must realize that people come and go in your life. Some stay around longer than others, but when it all comes down, YOU have to deal with YOUR choices and the decisions that YOU make. So make sure they are not influenced by someone who might turn against you or very well may not even be there tomorrow. It’s going to take some time and I’ve got a while to wait, but in the end it will be worth it. My future is not in my grasp. It has simply been delayed and not denied.
President Bill Clinton said that every American has a story to tell. The participants of these programs bring with them the dreams of quiet ambitions and most of all, stories. I don’t have the most challenging story of the death of a parent, criminal background, drug abuse or teen pregnancy.
However I don’t feel as if I am an anomaly. I am simply another reason why this program is a must. This program and other similar opportunities are a great prospect for disconnected or struggling students to regain what they once thought was unattainable. The availability of this program is crucial to the future of this generation. The more qualified students we have in the work force will allow its benefits to be larger in number. Alternative programs allow for students with potential to regain their momentum and strive for goals that were placed on the back burner. Students like myself and others involved in corresponding programs can continue to benefit from these types of program as long as they are around. Life isn’t about the chances we miss, it’s about the second chances we get and make the most of. For me this program is my second chance, and I am doing everything in my power, to make the best of it.
Read some of the other stories online at www.tncp.net. You can reach the The High School Diploma Completion Initiative at 517-483-9713.
