Program News 2002
Good Shepherd Grads On the Road to Success
Kathleen, a graduate of South Brooklyn Community Academy (SBCA), is a bright, articulate young woman who credits our high school program with having changed her life. While she had struggled and become discouraged at her former, large high school, once she transferred to our program, she flourished. "There are no words to describe the compassion that was shown to me when I entered this school," she says. "Many students come to the school so broken but they are welcomed with open arms. The staff accepts you whoever you are." During her time at SBCHS, she went from lacking confidence and being isolated from others to being a strong student voice in the school community. Kathleen developed positive relationships with the adults in the program as well as her peers and was actively involved in numerous student leadership activities. She particularly appreciates the exposure she has had at the school to new experiences and opportunities. For example, she represented the student body on the planning committee for the new high school that Good Shepherd will open in September. She enjoyed meeting people from the corporate world and was most gratified by the fact that she was treated as a peer and that her voice was heard. Kathleen hopes to realize her long held dream of becoming a midwife. Though she was accepted to Long Island University and loved the program, she has decided to enroll in the nursing program at City Technical College because of her concerns about the impact of the costs on her mother who is a single parent.
Manny joined Good Shepherd's attendance improvement dropout prevention program at John Jay High School in 9th grade and, in his junior year, entered our college preparatory program, Liberty Partnership Program (LPP). Provided in collaboration with Pace University, this program assists students who need extra support in their college pursuits. Manny demonstrated strong leadership ability in this program and in his broader school activities. He mentored a new student entering LPP and participated in lobbying efforts to increase funding for school-based support programs such as ours. For two years, Manny was a dedicated member of the school's leadership team, comprised primarily of parents and staff, which developed the annual Comprehensive Education Plan for the school. At the end of his junior year, Manny participated in Good Shepherd's college retreat where he developed his application essay on the theme of leadership and the question of whether a leader is born or chooses to be a leader. With a strong interest in film making, he has made a film about John Jay High School and participated in the production of a documentary on retired seafarers that will air on PBS this fall. In June, Manny was awarded the Park Slope Civic Council's Community Service Award for his volunteer work with the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, where he taught chess to younger students. Manny was accepted to many colleges and chose to attend a special pre-college program at Hampshire College on a full scholarship. On completion of this one-year program, Manny will enter the college as a freshman.
September 27, 2002
