Gary's Story: “A minute here and a minute there.”

For Gary, attending school was a simply inconceivable notion.

“During the daytime, I would babysit for my three young cousins while my uncle was at work,” the 19-year-old former dropout says. “But that was sort of the easy part, because I was also helping to take care of my grandmother and great grandmother.”

One was suffering from cancer; the other had dementia.

“I’d help them get to the bathroom, make sure they’d eat their food — all of those sorts of things,” Gary says. “At night, if my great grandmother woke up and happened to fall out of her bed, I was the one who would be there to help her out.”

That didn’t leave much room for school — and Gary wasn’t sure he’d ever get his high school diploma. But when the Southwest Michigan teen learned that his local school district had partnered with NoDropouts to give dropouts an opportunity to continue to pursue their high school diploma, he jumped at the opportunity.

It still wasn’t easy. Twice a week, for two hours at a time, Gary headed to a local cafe so that he could focus exclusively on his studies. The rest of the time, he said, “I tackled it a minute here and a minute there... it was slow going.”

Nonetheless, he’s determined to complete his studies.

“I’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “But I also know where I’m headed, now, and that helps a lot.”

Do you know a student like Gary? We can help you help him.
Call us at 855-NO-DROPOUTS or e-mail us at info@nodropouts.com