Donate Your Car in Illinois

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.}

Imagine growing up not knowing where you would get your next meal from or where you would be able to sleep safely each night. It’s unimaginable for most of us. But it was reality for Hillary.

At the age of two-years-old, Hillary was taken from her mom and placed into Child Protective Services and was transferred from foster home to foster home.

Today, she’s 19-years-old and on her way to graduation with her 9-month-old baby girl.

“It’s been hard for me going from shelter to shelter and in and out of foster care. When I finally thought things were getting normal, people want to adopt me and then they don’t. It’s hard on you.”

Hillary was always in search of her ‘forever home,’ but when you are forced to live with strangers, you never know what each day has in store.

“I finally gave up on trying to get adopted and just stuck with being in foster care. I accepted the fact that I would be there until I was 18. So I ran away, like every other teenager does.”

The lack of control that comes from being a foster child caused continual insecurity for Hillary. She believed it was normal for a teenager to run away from home.

After running away, the endless battle for stability continued; she became pregnant.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to take care of the baby, but I didn’t want to end up like my mom and lose my daughter. At that point I didn't think I was going to finish school either, but then at the shelter where I was living, I was told about Texans Can.. I was finally determined to do better and be better. I didn’t want my daughter growing up thinking it’s okay to not finish high school because her mom dropped out. I want her to think ‘my mom did it, I can do it too.’

“On my first day at the school, I thought it was all good vibes. I was welcomed by the advisors, the principal, and some of the teachers, too. I was really happy. I went from ‘I don’t know if I want to do this’ to ‘I think this is going to be a good experience.’

It was life changing because a lot of kids drop out of regular high schools and they don’t come back.

Texans Can was actually like a home when I was there. I had classes with most of the teachers there. And they truly want to see everyone graduate and do something with their lives.

The learning processes are even a lot different from other schools. Marquez Reading helps us listen and understand material. A lot of the kids begin here and don’t know how to read, but with Marquez Reading we are able to learn. It also helps us bond with each other and the teachers.

I use those skills all the time now, including those listening skills. Other schools are loud and people are always skipping class. At Texans Can people check up on you and make sure you’re okay. The classrooms are also a lot quieter and you don’t get distracted.

When you walk in there’s always someone there to greet you. It’s very different, a good different.

Being here has changed me a lot.

I know if I was with my mom today, I wouldn’t be the person I am. I would probably be out in the streets doing some horrible things.”

Today, with her 9-month-old daughter clinging to her side, she will walk across the stage at graduation. Hillary is determined to change the cycle she grew up with, and in doing so, changing the future for her daughter as well.

“Right now I’m still living in the placement I am in for the next couple of weeks. I plan on moving to Fort Worth, getting my own apartment, and taking classes online. In the future, I want to become a therapist or counselor at a shelter so I can help other people get through life.”

Hillary has learned to motivate herself with the desire to help others despite her hardships because of the help that Texans Can Academies gave her.

“I want to tell everyone, don’t quit. Quitting is not worth it. This school helps a lot. I came here not caring, but I’m leaving here caring so much.

A lot of people think Texans Can is going to be like every other school, but I can guarantee you it’s not like any other school. They’ll actually push you and motivate you to do better so you can be someone in life.”

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?

Alexis graduated in June. She is now enrolled in Medvance, a technical school, where she is studying medical office administration. She will begin classes July 6th and plans to complete her studies in eight months to one year. She wants to get a job, gain some experience and income, then go back to school to be certified as a radiology technician and work in one of Houston’s hospitals. 

Alexis has been enrolled in Houston Can! since the 10th grade. She was frustrated in her previous large public school because of the class sizes and interruptions. Other kids were “class clowns” and disruptive in the classroom and often prevented the teachers from teaching. She wanted to learn and felt like her time was being wasted by the other students and teachers. She would get mad and say things to the teachers about their lack of classroom control, which got her in trouble. She said she had a lot of attitude problems with the situation that she should have handled better. Her attendance began to suffer. She would do her work, turn it in and leave class. She would go to all three lunch periods and miss class. Her grades were good but her attendance was very bad and she didn’t receive credits for the classes. 

A friend told her about the Can! and she decided to enroll. She liked the way the class sizes were small, classes were concentrated to core subjects and were half days. She struggled with math concepts since elementary school but the teachers at the Can! simplified the information and made it easy for her to understand. She passed the math portion of the TAKS test the first time she took it at Houston Can! 

Alexis was able to graduate on schedule for her age in spite of the lost credits from her previous high school. Growing up was not easy for Alexis. She said she was “tugged and pulled” in several directions from a young age. She had lots of anger issues. Her Dad worked three jobs to support the family so was not around much for guidance and leadership while she was growing up. She met her mom when she was 16. She has had to work to help support herself since she was 16 and is “pretty much on her own now.”

Last Friday at a seafood buffet in Washington D.C. I got a phone call. It was from a publicist for my school, Texans Can! Academy at Carrollton-Farmers Branch. Over the past week, I had been blogging about my experiences at the Stephen Tyrone Johns Summer Youth Leadership Program at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in the nation’s capital. 

She told me that she had read my blogs and wanted me to write an autobiographical article. It was like a dream, I was happy enough having my blogs published on the internet. Now I'm going to have my work published in a real newspaper. Although I may have procrastinated, I believe I do my best work in the clutch. So here is my story. 

Born a healthy seven pounds, six ounces on the morning of September 6, 1991. I came into the world with a loving family, and a wonderful community to help raise me. My parents were both deaf, and as you can imagine, this can make things difficult when it comes to communication. Luckily, I learned sign language at a young age. When I was only seven or eight months old, I learned some simple signs from my parents and grandparents. I can’t imagine how exciting it must have been for my parents to communicate with their hearing child. 

As I grew older, my knowledge of sign language gained momentum and grew like a snowball tumbling down a powdery, snow-blanketed hill. I was a bright child, and drank in knowledge like a dry sponge. Even though I knew sign language, there were still communication issues. My hard-of-hearing mother could speak, but had a speech impediment. When you cannot hear your own voice clearly, it’s hard to correct your speech. My favorite anecdote illustrating this happened when I was 4. I remember my mother was cleaning my ears. When I asked what was in them she replied “earwax.” Because of my mother's speech impediment I heard her say “ear rats.” From then until I was six I believed that there were rats in my ears. 

Reading and spelling came easy to me, so if there was a word in ASL I didn't know, I could always spell it out. This helped me a lot in school. I was proud of my ability to spell and write, but school often bored me. I did well on tests, projects, and other assessments, but rarely turned in homework. People always told me that I was smart, but needed to apply myself more. Doubting my own intelligence, I thought that’s what they told everyone. I still loved reading, writing, and learning, just not school. 

I learned a lot about life and the world from my parents and would never trade them or their disability for anything. I have them to thank for my concern for others and my ability to empathize. They are very caring individuals who would do anything to ensure the well being of those around them. I inherited this skill from mom and dad, and it is part of the reason I can convey and understand others’ emotions so naturally. I am fond of telling people that sign language is body language’s most extreme and thorough manifestation. To communicate what the hearing can with tone and pitch, the deaf communicate so much more emotion in their facial expressions and movements. 

Because of their lack of hearing, they have to be so much more attentive to non-verbal cues than the hearing , and growing up in that kind of environment allowed me to more readily be able to pick up on those things. Growing up, religion was a big part of my life. As a child, I served as an altar boy and sang in the choir. Although I liked being a part of the church, and the praises I got from my family and church community, I think it was too much responsibility at a young age. I remember how easily I could be distracted during choir practice. My eyes would drift from the sheet music as I thought about how much fun I could have had I skipped practice that day. I stopped going to choir practice, and eventually church altogether. This is when I entered the somewhat rebellious stage most do. I started hanging out with the wrong crowd, smoking cigarettes, and skipping school. This only got worse when my parents separated. As in many situations where a parent leaves, I could not help but blame myself. Between my brother and me, I took mom and dad’s separation the hardest. I started smoking pot and drinking, probably to cope with my mother’s departure. This in turn had a more dramatic effect on my school attendance. I normally passed most of my classes, but because of my poor attendance my high school career was badly derailed; I only had two credits earned with twelve weeks left in the last semester of my sophomore year. I would have dropped out, but thanks to my counselor at Thomas Jefferson High School, I was given a second chance. 

She told me that I could either go through truancy court again, or go to a charter school in Farmers Branch called Texans Can! Academy. Realizing this was my best option, and only chance to graduate on time, I jumped on the opportunity and straightened up my act. My attendance improved greatly and despite a few bumps along the way I am now officially a senior. I should be graduating in the next year and I'm ready to start college soon. I have not found the right university for me yet, but I do know that I want to become a deaf education teacher. Jesse Jackson said once, “The problem is not that the students cannot hear, the problem is that the teachers do not listen.” I feel like Reverend Jackson was speaking directly to me; demanding I become a teacher to help shape young minds, especially those of the deaf. I have the advantage of being a hearing person in possession of a special understanding and deep relationship with the deaf community cultivated in my upbringing. I can relate and communicate with students, and have the caring attitude it takes to empathize with them. I have learned so much from the deaf community and the only thing I would like more than to give back to that community is to teach it's most important lessons and skills to the hearing. Teaching has always been that option that sat patiently in the back of my mind, a plan-B where I knew I could succeed but not necessarily what I wanted in a career. I have only recently discovered it as my true vocation. I have always enjoyed educating others and felt I was very informative. I have also had many inspiring teachers over the years. Foremost among them is my current History and Journalism teacher, Mr. Aubrey Leveridge. I have only known Mr. Leveridge for a year; 2009-2010 was his first year teaching and even though this is only his second year as a teacher at Texans Can!, I have adopted him as my official role model. I can only hope that I can become half the teacher he is. 

Teaching is more than my calling, it is also my familiy’s legacy. My grandmother taught science, and my aunt teaches special education. I come from a long line of educators. A gift has been given to me in my ability to sign and understand the deaf. Manifested in my heart is a great concern for others and I have seen firsthand the mistreatment of deaf people; ranging from staring and poor service in stores and restaurants to great difficulty finding work. I have had a terribly difficult time finding a job this summer probably because of the economy and am very well aware how difficult it is for my father. I remember reluctantly tagging along on job interviews with him because there was no interpreter. He has been out of work for some time now, and I hope he can find the right job. For the most part, the treatment of those with hearing disabilities has been sub-par from my perspective. It is my goal to change that, if only for a few people. My recent trip to and participation in the Steven Tyrone Johns Summer Youth Leadership Prgram at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. has inspired me to found a deaf awareness group. I plan to teach my peers sign language and the progression and treatment of deaf people throughout history. Also, there will be events where hearing and deaf students can come together and just have some good old fashioned fun like when my parents would take me to the deaf chat at Starbucks every Saturday. This is where I got the idea for the awareness group. 

I often reminisce about attending and fondly remember the fascinating stories I heard. Watching a deaf person tell a story is a very engaging experience. You can almost feel the same emotions they did at the time. I want to show others the attentive and caring nature of the deaf community. Hopefully through education and sympathy, I can make a difference for deaf people. I have many aspirations for the future including starting a deaf friendly non-profit organization that will offer employment opportunities and aid for the deaf and the hearing alike. I want to make a contribution to society in the best way possible, and that is through action. In the community of Holocaust museums and historians, this is called being an “upstander” instead of a bystander. In order to make a change, you must actively pursue life and never stop until you achieve your goals. 

I have been through a lot over the years. I was evicted from my childhood home, and again from my first apartment. My parents split up, and my mom moved away, but I never let those things get me down. I have been inspired by my own hardships, and the tribulations of those around me to better myself and set the stage for a bright future. I just hope that my story will communicate this inspiration to others. It is the nature of man to struggle, and without it we are nothing. There would be no life lessons or morality, and the world would be a boring place. I have lived my life to the best of my ability, and I have no regrets. I may be young, but I have learned a lot about life through experiences. I always try to remember Otto von Bismarck’s admonition, saying fools learn from their own experience while wise men learn from the experience of others.I want to live this adage as an example to people in a manner suggesting they learn from my mistakes and build on my successes. 

Despite my shortcomings and setbacks and because of the man they have made me, you are reading my words, but they could be someone else’s. I am not the only young person to have suffered in life and then grown from it; I am not the only young person with a voice; and I am especially not the first young person to want to change the world, yet here are my words. For those of you who have not suffered and grown, for those of you who have not found your voice, and for those of you who have never wanted to change the world; you will. You will suffer and you will grow; your voice is there, but you have to hear it before anyone else can; and when you are ready to change the world, let me know because I will help you if you help me. 

For those of you who have done all these things already, remember what it was like to be me and help me help you. In closing, I would like to thank my family, my teachers, my community, and anyone who helped raise me along the way. For they are my guides and I the true maker of my destiny. They inspire me to better myself, and I want to make them proud.