For seven years after graduating from high school, Marcia Joyner worked in retail. Although she was able to move up the ranks of management, she never felt as if she found her true career pathway and needed professional assistance.
When Senita Robinson, a licensed foodservice manager, became unemployed in September 2010, she started visiting the Northwest One Stop Career Center at Mondawmin Mall every day to search for open positions and apply for jobs.
Darius Tarbriziwas discharged from the U.S. Navy for alcohol abuse in 2003, just a few months shy of completing his enlistment with an honorable discharge.
When Tavon Betts, 18, of South Baltimore arrived at the Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE) as a freshman in September 2007, he was reading at a fourth‐grade level.
Melanie Rolesof West Baltimore had her sights set on attending ACCE back in 2007 when she was starting high school. She was not selected through the Baltimore City Public Schools’ random lottery system, and instead started her freshman year at her zoned school – Dr. Samuel Banks High School.
After becoming a single mother at the age of 16 in 2004, Rachel Johnsondecided to drop out of the tenth grade and work full‐time in order to support her child. But when she had a second baby a few years later, Rachel realized she wanted more for herself and her family.