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Gricelda Arias
Gricelda Arias is a graduate of Mary B. Henry Academy YouthBuild in South L.A. She is 24 years-old and the mother of a 5 year old little girl. She left high school when she was 15 years-old after her father was deported. Her mother made the tough decision of moving their family to live in Mexico. While living in Mexico, Gricelda was unable to go to school and didn't have the opportunity to earn credits or work towards her diploma. When she finally decided to come back to the U.S., she thought it was too late for her to get her high school diploma. However, when she learned about YouthBuild Charter School of California, she realized she had found a second chance. "Even though I’m 24, I can proudly say I GRADUATED! Mary B. Henry YouthBuild made it possible for me to graduate, and they were judgment free," she says. "They believed in me, and for that I am thankful. I plan on using the scholarship money to buy school supplies and books that are needed for school. I will attend Trade Tech in the fall and I’m very much excited to start college!" |
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Christian Arnold
Christian Arnold is a graduate of YCSC's Fresno campus at the Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps. He is twenty years old and the father of a beautiful two-year-old girl. He says, "All my hard work and continuous drive to excel in my education... will make me great role model for my daughter." Christian is attending Fresno City College, where he is studying journalism. He is an aspiring writer, saying, "I can't help but feel a huge excitement for the places I might go and the things I will do." When asked to share a message of inspiration, Christian said, "Continue to shoot for what it is you love to do; no matter what, you hold the power over your success, so never let a hardship become your downfall." |
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Oscar Arriola
Oscar Alejandro Arriola is a graduate from the South Los Angeles YouthBuild Charter School site (CRCD Academy). He thanks all the amazing people from YouthBuild for always believing and encouraging him to accomplish his goals. He is currently a freshman at Los Angeles Trade Tech College and is working towards an AST in Administration of Justice. His plan is to transfer to a Cal State and earn his bachelor's degree in Criminology, followed by completing his graduate program at a UC. His goal is to make his career in law enforcement at the federal level and make sure that he works for the people; after all, he is one of the people! He is going to use his scholarship money towards buying a car, which will cut down his current commuting situation and allow him greater time to focus on the club he is part of and study for his classes. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies, paintballing, going to the shooting range, and volunteering at the Veteran's Village Recovery Center on holidays in Long Beach, CA. |
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Brianna Beecher
Brianna Beecher graduated from YouthBuild Charter School's Fresno site in June 2018. She is a proud mom of two boys and two girls. It was very important for Brianna to graduate from YouthBuild Charter because earning her high school diploma was one of her main goals. Now she is achieving her dream of furthering her education by attending Fresno City College. Brianna says her family gives her inspiration to pursue an education and fulfill her dream of becoming an ultrasound tech. Brianna said, "When I look back and think about the world I came from, I realize I have had challenges while growing up, but those challenges became inspiration to me in many ways. I have inspiration from my challenges to not let things stop me from doing what I have always wanted to do. I am going to fulfill my dreams. I also look back and I am kind of grateful for going through those things because without going through them, it wouldn’t have made me the strong person I am today and to want more in life and to succeed and to grow." |
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Edgar Gonzalez (2nd-year scholar)
Edgar M. Gonzalez was born in Michoacan, Mexico but migrated to LA as a child seeking a better life. He currently attends Santa Monica City College where he's majoring in Political Science. He hopes to one day become a politician. Edgar has been very involved in college and in his community. He is the Founder and Vice President of the Homegirl and Homeboy Scholars of SMC, the Co-Founder of Children Over Politics (where he fundraised $17,000), a member of the Brown Berets, and Vice President of the Associated Students of Santa Monica College. He is also a full time McDonald's employee and organizer with the Fight for $15 LA campaign and SEIU 721. He hopes to transfer to UCLA after completing his credits at SMC. He wants to change the world for the better and help the proletariat. He is inspired by socialism and his one-year-old daughter. In his free time, he likes to record and produce music or attend political events. |
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Gloria Gonzalez
Gloria Gonzalez is a graduate of YouthBuild Charter's Inglewood campus at the Youth Justice Coalition/ Free LA High School. As a proud Latina from South Central Los Angeles, Gloria credits YCSC/Free LA High for providing her with the people, spaces and resources to survive the struggle within her community. She is twenty-two years old and the mother to a beautiful two-year-old named Violet. Her passion revolves around youth development and building alternative opportunities for youth to end the school to prison pipeline. She says that her inspiration to assist her community came from having an abundance of family and friends being incarcerated and very few resources in her community. Gloria was bullied mercilessly in middle school by the same boy, and after many months, she eventually stood up for herself. After she told him to leave her alone and stop bulling her, he tried to beat her up. As she tried to run from him and jump the fence surrounding her school, a police officer caught her and told her to climb down. The officer then told her he was going to arrest her as an example of "what happens to students who break rules." Gloria was transferred to another school miles away from her home and given a citation of $500. She went to court four times to plead not guilty, but at the end of the third court date her mom told her she couldn't take any more days from work because her boss was threatening to fire her if continued to miss work. As a result, after her fourth court date, Gloria had no choice but to plead guilty. This meant that she couldn't get a drivers license until the ticket was paid. This experience is what motivated her to pursue a career fighting for justice. Her future goals are to create a space where formerly incarcerated and system impacted youth and young mothers can create their own craft, market it, and earn their own income. She serves on the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, completed a program called Public Allies, and is currently attending Los Angeles Trade Tech College. |
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Skye Johnson
Skye is a graduate of Home Sweet Home YouthBuild in Hollywood. Skye was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. Skye is the oldest of three and has two brothers. At fourteen, Skye moved back to New York due to sickness in the family. Skye attended an arts high school in New York but didn’t feel happy there. So Skye bought a one-way to ticket to LA to pursue a passion for modeling. At only sixteen with four thousands followers Instagram followers, Skye began to start a modeling career. Don’t let Skye's looks fool you! Skye actively does groups with homeless and foster youth. Skye said, "I originally had no desire to go on to college. Youthbuild Charter School of California and Home Sweet Home has changed that for me." Skye is currently attending Santa Monica College for esthetics and plans to transfer to UCLA for nursing. Skye said, "My experiences as a homeless trans non-binary youth fuel my desire to further my education and become a healthcare professional who gives back to the community. I can say from first-hand experience that many independent trans youth like me do not continue with school due to lack of finances and acceptance from their families and peers. I see very few trans people in the healthcare field. It is my hope to change that." |
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Naol Kebede
Naol Kebede is a graduate of South Los Angeles YouthBuild (CRCD Academy). When he was in 12th grade, Naol left Ethiopia to come to the US, where he was able to earn his diploma at YouthBuild Charter School. Naol describes his experience at YouthBuild as the first step to his big future. One moment he won’t forget was the beach extracurricular activity. He said that all the support he received from the unforgettable people at YouthBuild will inspire him for the rest of his journey. He will use the scholarship to cover his school expenses and transportation. He believes every opportunity needs to be seized at the right time-- a lesson he learned from the people at YouthBuild. In his free time, Naol likes to socialize and get involved in activities that benefit his community. He's currently studying Biology at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. He plans to be a great doctor. |
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Tyler Langrehr
Tyler Langrehr was born in Palm Springs. Sometime after his birth, Tyler's family moved to a small town in Arizona, where he was raised with his 3 brothers and one sister. While living in Parker, Tyler attended school all the way up to his freshman year of high school. During his time there, he played football, fishing, and riding dirt bikes, but he felt disconnected. As the months went by, he started to lose interest in school and wanted to earn some money for himself. He dropped out of school and took job after job for the next 2 years, enjoying the independence it gave him. I never looked back in that time and earned myself some independence. Tyler has enjoyed working on cars ever since his grandpa offered to teach him how to work on a car engine when he was 12. "The second I turned a wrench under the hood, I knew that this was for me," Tyler said. "When I spend my time under a hood of a car, everything disappears in the world and all that is left is me and the car." As time went on, Tyler started to question whether Parker was the place where big opportunities ever happened. That thought rang in his head every day for a month. He finally came to the conclusion that Parker was not the place for him to get the opportunities he needed. "What I really needed was a fresh start," he said. So he decided to join his extended family in Bakersfield, where he could finish school and continue his education. A few months after moving to Bakersfield, he found YouthBuild Charter School of California. After being out of school for three years, Tyler was able to graduate from YouthBuild Charter School after 9 months. Tyler had this to share about his YouthBuild Charter experience: "This school has helped me out more than I could have ever thought. It is also one of the best schools I have ever attended. YouthBuild has all of the public schools beat when it comes the staff and teachers. From the start, they have pushed me and encouraged me to be successful in school and in life, teaching me new skills and a new way at looking at life. I don’t think I could have done all that I have without them." Tyler is currently attending Bakersfield College, and he plans to transfer to California State University Bakersfield to study Mechanical Engineering. |
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John Rodriguez
John Rodriguez is a graduate of the Fresno EOC Local Conservation Corps. He said that finally accomplishing his goal of earning his diploma was not easy and that struggle after struggle put him to a halt many times. He credits his father and mother for keeping him motivated. John is glad to say it was all well worth it in the end. "YouthBuild gave me the insight needed to discover my potential," he said. "YouthBuild saw what I was capable of and set me on a path to discover my capabilities." He explained that the insight given to him at YouthBuild has put him on a path that, until recently, he had not even thought he could pursue. Now John can honestly say he ready for the real world and making it the best for his daughter and himself. He is currently studying welding at Fresno City College. "Welding has always been an interest to me," said John, whose father was an avid welder who turned that passion into a career. He hopes to pursue a degree in engineering as well. "I don't know how everything is going to turn out, but I do know I am going to give it my all." |
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Alejandro Sanchez Barajas
Alejandro Sanchez is a graduate of EOC Fresno LCC YouthBuild. The time he spent there was one of the best experiences in his life. Alejandro appreciates all the teachers and staff because he knew he could always count on them for support. Alejandro is currently attending Fresno City College, and his dream is to become a veterinarian. He will use his scholarship money to help pay for his college fees and other necessities. Alejandro is inspired by everyone around him at YouthBuild Charter School because everyone is trying to get their high school diploma and improve themselves. He has made lasting friendships that will carry on into college. During his free time, Alejandro enjoys spending as much time with his dogs as possible. |
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Nestor Sanchez
Nestor Sanchez was born in Yorba Linda, California. Due to financial troubles during his eighth grade year, he moved to Fresno, but after two years in high school, he dropped out. "For two long years I was throwing my life away," he said. Nestor and his mom needed food, so he would help out at a community food bank where he felt like he was doing something important. After months of helping out there, Nestor overheard one of the staff members talking about a program where you could acquire a high school diploma and gain some employment experience. He said that his first thought was, “Oh my goodness! I need to act on this and ask the lady for more information about this program." She asked Nestor if he had a high school diploma or a job, and he explained that he did not. She gave him papers to fill out and the date to return for the orientation. Nestor was terrified to take this leap of faith. He said, "I was uneducated, so I knew this new environment was going to be grueling for me since I was very antisocial and I never had a job." Nestor said he had difficulties communicating and asserting himself at first, but he decided to focus on himself because he knew this new road was going to be difficult. However, he began to flourish at YouthBuild. As the time drew closer and closer to his graduation, he realized it was time to pick a career. During the previous year, he had served on the SEKI crew (Sequoia & Kings Canyon), which involved working in the woods all week during the summer. SEKI's specialty is to making trails from scratch, felling trees, bucking, construction of fences, digging trenches, hiking miles to a worksite, going into back country, and staying at that location for a month. After the summer was done, Nestor still didn’t know what he wanted to become. He asked himself, “What am I good at? What do I love doing?” That’s when it hit him, literally. "From that moment I recognized that I wanted a career in Fire Service," said Nestor, who plans to obtain a job at the Forest Service. Nestor's plan is to work for a season, save enough money, and then study at Reedley College. His major will be Forestry and Natural Resources. After finishing that program, he plans to work for another year at the Forest Service to gain the experience needed to join the Sierra Hotshots. "Well, at least that's my plan" said Nestor, "but life is life and anything can happen. All I know is that I’m going to try my best at everything that I do." |
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Alex Villa
Alex Villa is a 26-year-old graduate of YCSC's Fresno campus. Alex is passionate about skateboarding. "After 13 years, it has really turned into my second nature. I can’t go anywhere without my skateboard," he said. Skateboarding gave Alex a sense of freedom within himself that he could not find anywhere else. In fact, skateboarding has led him down a career path to become an architectural engineer. He chose this field of study for many reasons, but was motivated by the fact that his town currently has no indoor skate parks. "Coming from a skater’s perspective, it’s a bummer always trying to find somewhere dry to skate," said Alex, "and half the time we get kicked out because it's either somewhere we can’t or shouldn’t be skating." Alex wants to become an architectural engineer so that he can build his own skate shop from the ground up with its own indoor skate park. That way skateboarders young and old could have somewhere safe to skate and learn together and somewhere they can skate on those rainy days. Alex wants to turn the old buildings and warehouses in his town into something new that could bring the community closer together. "I believe skateboarding can bring together people of all races," said Alex. "There’s no discrimination between skaters, and I have met a lot of my closest friends because of skateboarding. My heart tells me I can create a place to bring people together through skateboarding." Alex is currently taking classes at Fresno City College. |