Taking the Possibilities Seriously

Kevin Beck is a serious young man who makes above-average grades in his college classes while working a full-time job. But if it weren’t for Communities In Schools and his family, he could have been a high school dropout.

Given Kevin Beck’s serious demeanor, the As and Bs he makes in his classes, and the fact that this 20-year-old college sophomore goes to school while working a full-time job, you wouldn’t believe that just a few short years ago, Kevin was a high school dropout in Newark, N.J., who had been kicked out of three schools.

What caused this young man to make such a positive U-turn?  Family, a new school and Communities In Schools.

Originally from Atlantic City, N.J., Kevin was living in Newark with his mom and five younger siblings.  He attended classes at the local high school sporadically.  First, he said, it was cutting classes.  In 10th grade, he stopped going altogether.

Kevin would be the first to admit it had nothing to do with his ability to learn.  “I always had good grades in school,” he emphasized.  “My mom had her hands full with my younger siblings, so I went to live with my aunt.  She’s a local television reporter.  She worked long hours, which gave me a lot of unsupervised time.  I don’t need to tell you what types of diversions a teenaged boy can find with time and opportunity.”

He says he began making some bad choices that landed him in a juvenile detention center on the day before Thanksgiving.  That brush with the law turned this bright young man around.  “I didn’t want to live a life with limited options due to limited education and a criminal record.”

He moved to Phoenix, Ariz. to live with his grandmother, working full-time and paying rent.  He was back on track but still lacked a high school diploma.  He couldn’t see a way to get that diploma, but his aunt encouraged him to go back to school.

One day she called to tell him about Metro Center Academy, a self-paced charter school created through a partnership of the Simon Youth Foundation, the Glendale School District and Communities In Schools of Arizona.  Intrigued by the school’s small size and the fact that he could work at his own pace as long as he kept up his grades, Kevin finally saw a way to finish high school and create the kind of life he wanted.

Like many students across the country, Kevin’s introduction to Communities In Schools came through Lloyd Hopkins, the school’s community resource coordinator.  “Kevin’s teachers noticed what a bright, likeable kid he was and asked me to mentor him and help prepare him for college,” Hopkins noted.

But Kevin was focused on the here and now.  He needed a job and he asked Hopkins for help.  Hopkins, who had been promoted to senior director of community reinvestment for Communities In Schools of Arizona, not only passed along openings, he helped Kevin create a resume and hone his interviewing skills.

He also opened another door for Kevin, the one marked “college.”  He began talking about what college could offer and, better yet, the possibility that Kevin could get scholarships that would help him pay for it.  “My job was to show students like Kevin that college was within reach if they asked the right questions and worked hard.  It isn’t that college is too difficult for them, it’s that they think it’s out of reach.”

Hopkins took Kevin on campus visits, helped him obtain scholarship information and work on his applications, and practiced “mock” interviews with him.

On a tour with Hopkins of Glendale Community College, where he is now majoring in pharmacy, and Arizona State University, Kevin realized that college was the right place for him.  “I was inspired by the campuses — they were so big and beautiful.  And the atmosphere was serious.”  That seriousness suited Kevin perfectly.  “I’m in some night classes with older students who take the classes very seriously and I appreciate that.”

On track to earn his Bachelor’s degree in two years and preparing for a career as a pharmacist, Kevin uses two scholarships he was awarded to pay for school and works a full-time job as well.

He hasn’t forgotten his younger self.  With Hopkins’ support, Kevin began volunteering for Communities In Schools while he was still at Metro Center Academy, tutoring and helping out with special events as needed.  While he has to juggle his volunteer work with school and work, Kevin still manages to show up for the students.  “Working with younger kids gives him the opportunity to give back and transfer his hard-won knowledge to them,” Hopkins said.  “When someone has been through rough times and succeeded, his story really hits home.”

Kevin also speaks to other Communities In Schools audiences.  He told his story at a Communities In Schools national board of directors meeting and is scheduled to speak at a Communities In Schools of Arizona fundraising breakfast, said Hopkins.  He sums up Kevin’s life and accomplishments in one simple sentence: “He’s a great example of what a young man can be.”

March 2010