Success Stories

Shamiya’s road to academic success began with promise but took a sharp downturn after the unexpected passing of her father. “At first, I was doing good in school. I was a good student, but my dad ended up passing away suddenly, and then school just really went downhill for me. I wasn't attending school much,” she recalls. 

“I’m learning so much in the ROC program, including electrical, plumbing, HVAC and even architectural skills.  I know it’s a great career and you can earn well, so I’ve always been interested.  It was a great experience, working with so many different people, getting to work and learn things hands-on, building up my resume, all while getting paid.”

“I was a really bad reader. They told me to start doing the reading lessons. I started off slow, but my reading slowly got better. I started to learn new words, new vocabulary. I started to understand and then things started getting easier. After that, I realized I just had to pay attention, just read, and the credits start coming in. It felt good. Then I started coming to school more. That really got me straight. That’s the key. If you can read, it’ll get you through anything.”

“You have the dashboard which tells you how far you have to go. It’s really helpful because you put your plan in, exactly what you want to do after graduation or any other goal you want to set for yourself. You have smaller goals, too, and one you complete one, it just comes off your dashboard.”

The only thing she’d do differently? “I should have just come here from the beginning.”

On the hard days, Ivanna looks to her son for inspiration. After dropping out of high school because she had a child while she was 17, she still wasn’t ready to give up. “I have a lot on my plate,” she explains. “I have work, school, and a baby. It’s a little harder for me. But I want to show my son that I can do it.”

“I was sitting in school for eight straight hours, when I just realized: This is not what I want to do. I need a change. So, I researched ‘early graduation’ and found Stewart Creek. I told my mom, ‘Hey, I think I want to do this.’ After a couple simple steps, I was enrolled.”

As a 17 year-old single mother to two children under three, Tabatha dropped out of high school... twice.  She had barely completed enough credits for 9th grade, but came to Stewart Creek, determined to avoid becoming another teen parent statistic.