Car Donation in Colorado

Ashley Viera is a 21 year old student who is married with 4 children. Ashley just had her third child at the end of last school year. Despite the obstacles of being a mother and wife, Ashley has continued to come to school and is determined to finish. Currently Ashley is 8.5 credits away from graduation and will hopefully finish San Antonio Can! in June 2011. Ashley's Quote: "I like that my classes are shorter and I get out earlier so I can still have quality time with my 4 kids. That is why I came to San Antonio Can!"

AJ Clemons is an Austin Can! student who will walk across the stage at the upcoming June Graduation Ceremony. “I was an A-B honor roll student throughout elementary and middle school. When I started high school the word “school” was not in my vocabulary. I was skipping class and I got into everything but the books. After a while I began to see myself stuck in the same pattern. The very same people I went to middle school with were walking the stage and I was left behind. I had to think long and hard about what I was going to do with my life. That was when I was introduced to Austin Can! Academy, where second chances are given. Most people in my shoes would have given up and dropped out but here I stand getting my high school diploma at the age of 22. None of my sisters or brothers graduated from high school. I am grateful and very happy to be the first. See, I know now, that high school is where adulthood begins. Austin Can! is where I learned new things, met great people, and began my new life. Now, I’m ready for college and look forward to a career in music and business management.”

Erica has a beautiful smile, is very bubbly and very positive. She graduated in June and has been accepted to Texas A&M. She went to a large public high school before enrolling at Houston Can! Her grades were good but her mother had a baby and needed Victoria to help babysit so she couldn't attent school. Her mother also became ill, had several surgeries and a long recovery period. Victoria’s grades began to slip. 

A friend told her about Houston Can! so she enrolled because she could attend school a half day and babysit her new baby sister the other part of the day. Erica said the past few years during high school were a very, very difficult time for her. She is very close to her mother and was worried about her. And she was also caring for a newborn infant. When her mother returned home from the hospital she required a lot of bed rest and Erica was responsible for her care, too. 

Without the schedule at Houston Can! and the support of her teachers and advisors she said she doesn’t know what she would have done it. Erica is very excited to have been able to graduate from high school and is really looking forward to moving to College Station this August. As a result of her life experience, she plans on studying nursing.

Byron Del Pinal’s first year in high school was a fairly normal one.He participated in football and did well in his classes. He moved to a new school his sophomore year and found similar success.However, his family moved yet again during his sophomore year and he enrolled in his third high school in two years.

Things changed for Byron after the second move. He started skipping school and his grades suffered.He remained in the same high school his junior year but finished the year not passing one class.He began his fourth year at that same school as a junior rather than as a senior and saw no hope of graduating with his class or joining the military which was his dream.

After visiting with Marine recruiters, he decided to go to Guatamela and get his high school diploma there. He was very successful and graduated in October of 2009. He returned to the ready to fully engage in the military lifestyle but was shocked when the Marine recruiters said that they could not accept his Guatemalan high school diploma for admission to the Marine Corps.

Determined to achieve his dreams, Byron visited with Tony Swafford, principal of the Fort Worth Can! Academy River Oaks campus, about completing the coursework he needed to meet the credit requirements and pass the TAKS tests to qualify for a Texas high school diploma. Swafford outlined the five credits he needed to meet graduation requirements, established his daily schedule, and made arrangements for him to get the needed tutoring to prepare him for the TAKS tests.

In less than one school year with Fort Worth Can! Byron earned 1.5 credits and passed all three TAKS tests he needed to graduate.He now needed to finish the 3.5 credits required for graduation during the final quarter of the year.Normally, students can earn 2.0 credits during one quarter.Byron worked closely with Stanley Carr, River Oaks credit recovery lab teacher, and was able to finish the 3.5 credits.He walked across the stage to receive his diploma June 4, 2010 in front of his very proud family and Fort Worth Can! teachers.

Byron’s dream came true entering the United States Marine Corps soon after graduation and has since finished his thirteen week basic training.Byron recently returned to the River Oaks campus to thank the teachers and staff for helping him reach his dreams and to remind the students that anything is possible if you are only willing to work hard to achieve it.

The impact Eddie’s mentor made on him stays with him to this day. Now, seven years after graduation, Eddie is an award-winning store manager for AT&T, a company he has stayed with since he graduated. He has traveled abroad, and he has purchased his second home. Because of his experiences at school and help from Texans Can - Cars for Kids and the success he has known since, he wants to give back, being a mentor to young men who, like him, have had to go without the love and guidance of a father.