Just over a year ago we started a new training session. I was talking to the mother of a young lady who was going to join the class. She relayed to me her daughter was not attending school and was really done with the school process. When Bella showed up in class, she had very colorful hair and a few piercings. I am not sure if she colored her hair to match her clothing or bought clothing to match her hair. After class we were chatting, Bella said, “I don’t want to go to school because I can’t stand high school students!” She told us one story of her trying to weld in class one day and the other students were taking her personal welding tools and hiding them around the shop. Further along in the conversation Bella said, “I love to be here at VoTech because you all treat me like a real person.” I was taken aback that anyone would not treat this young lady as a person. She has shined in the 71Five VoTech Training. She even rescheduled a surgery so she could complete Phase 1 of our program. After she recovered from the surgery, she came back on a leg scooter to participate in our welding track. She was given the task of building four window grates for the Salvation Army building in Medford. She sat down and designed the grates herself and with the help of a volunteer constructed a jig to make welding the bars easier. Recently, with pride, she installed the last bolt to mount the grates to the building. We’ve seen an amazing turn around in Bella’s life. Not only has she been working on her welding skills here at VoTech, working part time at a local restaurant, she is also just a few credits short of graduating a year early from high school. We are collecting information on the projects she’s accomplished here at 71Five VoTech for her transcript and it should put her over the top for graduation.

 

Your prayers and gifts are changing the lives of young people like Bella in Jackson and Josephine Counties. Thank you!