From dropout risk to soccer star...one LUA student’s inspiring story

Junior high school brought out the worst in Amparo. The once friendly, athletic teen became angry and rude, more intent on pleasing her rough crowd of friends than doing what she knew was right at school and at home.

She stopped going to classes, pushed other kids around, and smoked pot, seemingly oblivious to how this could affect her life. Until one day, when Amparo realized she was headed down the wrong path.

“As a kid, I had been nicer and more open-minded. But at my old junior high school, the only way to earn respect was to be mean,” Amparo says. “That’s what I’d become. I wanted to change but I knew that meant finding another school.”

Amparo’s mother, always supportive, learned about LYDIA Urban Academy through a connection at work and made some inquiries. The school accepted Amparo and enrolled her as a ninth-grader in January 2010.

Old habits died hard during that first semester. “At first, I would get into it with other kids-someone would offend me and I’d attack,” Amparo says. “But teachers at LYDIA were different than the ones I had in my old school.

As long as I was willing to deal with my frustrations, they’d give me time to do it. I could even leave class and meet with a school counselor to talk.” By the end of her freshman year, Amparo began doing the schoolwork she knew she was capable of doing.

During her sophomore year, she took extra classes in order to graduate early. This spring, she received her high school diploma from LUA and in July began attending Parkland College in Champaign on a soccer scholarship. She plans to study criminal justice in hopes of becoming a detective.

“The kids I used to hang out with are still doing the same stuff,” Amparo says. “A couple of them are in jail and a lot have dropped out of school. Without LYDIA, I probably would have dropped out, too. But instead, I became the person I always knew I was inside. My parents are really proud of me.”

Turnarounds like Amparo’s are hard-fought but not uncommon at LYDIA Urban Academy. The school’s personalized academics and supportive atmosphere allow students to catch up on their schoolwork while learning how to form healthy relationships with teachers and peers.

Our campuses in Rockford and Chicago also offer a unique work-study program that gives students real-world experience while helping them earn money for tuition.

As the 2013-14 school year gets underway, we are hoping that you will invest in the lives of our students with a gift of $75, $100, $200, or even more. Such gifts can make a significant impact, strengthening our finances so that students can rely on us to be there for them in the months and years to come.

Now that Amparo is headed to college, she can see how the lessons learned at LYDIA Urban Academy went beyond academics to encompass all of life.

“The teachers and counselors helped me see that God cares about me and will always be there for me,” she says. “They showed me that anything is possible.”

Thank you for considering a financial gift to LYDIA. Your partnership is helping us give once at-risk students a vision for their future and the support they need to achieve their dreams.

Sincerely,

David Anderson, PsyD

Executive Director