First to Graduate in His Family |
Kevin’s Journey with Healthy Visions
Kevin is a shining example of the impact of Healthy Visions on the youth in Reading Community Schools. He was first one in a family of 15, including his mother, father, uncles, aunts and cousins, to graduate from high school. Kevin was mentored for two years by a Healthy Visions mentor. Kevin said he was going to flunk out and repeat senior year because he wasn’t motivated to do his school work. Kevin shared with his mentor that if he flunked one class senior year he could not graduate. His mentor checked in with Kevin weekly about his grades. His mentor motivated, inspired, and encouraged Kevin to turn in homework and study for tests. He also counseled Kevin about the importance of putting his studies first, and suggested that he reduce his work hours from four days a week to one. Kevin’s financial sacrifice paid off. By not working as many hours he was no longer falling asleep in class or too tired at night to study or do homework. Kevin had been capable of academic achievement but needed the guidance of his mentor to help him figure out a way to balance his work and his studies. Kevin passed all the classes he needed to graduate, joyfully sharing the news of his academic success with his mentor.