ORLANDO, Fla. — A Valencia College program aimed at helping young adults who never graduated high school is expanding from Osceola County into Orange County, thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Students ages 16 to 24, who dropped out, can get their GED while enrolling in a trade program and getting industry certifications.
Valencia College kicked off its first YouthBuild classes in 2017 at the college’s Osceola County campus, but this is the first year it has expanded into Orange County.
“Orange County is one of the biggest school districts in the state of Florida and there are students ever year that are not graduating, so it’s such an obvious and necessary addition,” said Bridget Valle, director of youth programs and services at Valencia College.
An Osceola County YouthBuild graduate believes this expansion into Orange County will change lives.
Anthony Byrne, 18, is in his second month on the job as an assistant technician at the Osceola Council on Aging.
The agency hired him after graduating the YouthBuild program in construction.
Byrne says he loves his profession, and loves working on homes for military veterans.
“To get up and help veterans is a great opportunity,” he said.
He’s found hope after getting his GED, which has allowed him to work a full-time job.
“I love the construction field, I love to be hands on and active,” he said.
Bridget Valley, director of youth programs and services at Valencia College, credits the YouthBuild program with giving students, like Byrne, hope for their future.
“It gives students direction, traditional high school is not for everybody and this bridges that gap for students that want to be useful in a career but maybe weren’t so successful in what we consider traditional high school,” she said.
That’s something Byrne says he can relate to.
“It wasn’t a good thing for me, the school environment wasn’t for me. They said I was a lost cause, they gave up on me, they said I didn’t have enough credits to graduate so they ended up kicking me out of school entirely,” he said.
He says YouthBuild has changed his life and hopes the expansion into Orange County will change the lives of thousands of others.
He says after getting kicked out of school, a friend who went through the program told him about it.
“He was like: ‘Hey, there’s a great opportunity man. Go to school, get paid for it and get your diploma.’ And I was like what: ‘That’s crazy,’” he said.
It took him one month to graduate, and he says the rest is history.
“I had a lot do doubters in my family and friends and they said I wasn’t going to be anything, and I wasn’t going to do anything,” he said. “So, I took that personally and I worked very hard and I got everything done quicker than anybody and I graduated first in my class”
His advice for other students who are struggling like he was to bounce back up and persevere.
“And to not lose hope,” he said.
More than 92% of the students enrolled in the YouthBuild program have earned a diploma and 75% are employed or continuing their education.
Interested students can apply starting in September by attending an orientation session.
Valencia College stated classes will begin in the fall.