Today I’d like to talk about one of my students named Chris. He was like many of my other students – in
his early 30s, from a disadvantaged neighborhood, and spending his life in and
out of prisons. When I first met Chris,
we had a long conversation about what he wanted out of life. He shared with me how he had just finished a
4-year prison sentence and how tired he was – tired of his life on the street
and needing to make a change for his kids.
I hear this often but there was something different about
Chris. In spite of his background, he
was calm, sincere and was willing to ask me (someone he just met) for
help. As a student at JobTrain, he definitely
struggled as school is a big adjustment compared to the instant gratification
of the streets, but he stuck with it. I
could tell that in spite of his past experiences, he had a core of being thoughtful
and genuine that naturally surfaced.
We had many conversations about him struggling with
change. He had no support at home and many
times wanted to quit. I told him I
couldn’t let him quit and that as long as he kept coming to training, I would
be his support. I said, “Let’s prove
them wrong.” That was the first time I
ever saw him smile.
So why was this student so different from all the
others? Because I didn’t get the chance
to finish helping him. Two months ago in
April 2015, he was gunned down at a party by a jealous man over a girl. Lives
wasted. As I sit here at his funeral,
wearing all white at the request of his family, I can’t help but think, my
students are, in a sense, my family and family is important to help anyway we
can.
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