I was born in Omaha, NE. I really don’t remember too much about my childhood life, but starting around ages 12-17, I found myself out of control. I went through the juvenile justice system, including youth centers and group homes, to help me learn to respect authority. I fell into gangs and violence. I didn’t really like school much, so I had problems there too.
As I began to get older, I began to start settling down and trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself. I tried to slow down, go to school and get good grades, and I needed some assistance to motivate me more and keep positive.
I researched and found the Goodwill Industries Serving Eastern Nebraska and Southwest Iowa program in the North Omaha community. I signed up right away. I had a problem at first because, being alone by myself at age 19-20, I had worked and was overqualified as far as income guidelines.
They helped me out, and they let me in the program. They assisted me with a lot of training, résumé writing and helping me figure out what I wanted to do with life. I realized I wanted to be a dental assistant, because I like teeth and doing different things with teeth, so we got me into a training class.
I was in the training program for 12 to 16 weeks. I graduated, and I am now a dental assistant full time and being a positive role model. I don’t let my environment bring me down — I just keep pushing, moving and staying motivated. I’m really successful now; I’m happy where I am. I’m happy that Goodwill helped me out.
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