As a teenager in Anchorage, I did not have a successful stint in the public school system. The graduation percentage in 2009 was down along with my motivation and I did not believe I could graduate at all until I began attending Benny Benson Secondary School in my senior year. When I started my senior year at this alternative school in the fall of 2009, I only had enough credits under my belt to pass as a freshman.

As the months passed, my relationships with the teachers grew and I realized that I had untapped skills and knowledge that only needed a little bit of stirring up but the challenge of catching up on those lost credits still lingered. From then on, a switch was flipped in my head and I attacked my courses head on with full steam….I was presented with an honorary award at our graduation in the year of 2010 and I chose to speak in front of the entire class.

The motivation it took to conquer these goals will always be with me and I am proud to be a contributor to United Way because I know what it is like to just need that one little push, that extra effort coming from “Left Field” that makes all the difference to a struggling student.