A program that proves youths can persevere

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word "perseverance?" Do you think of a student who is not doing so well in school, but they keep trying? Maybe you think of a person who wants to lose weight, so they go to the gym every day and eat healthy. Or perhaps you think of someone who wants to run a marathon, and even though they sprain their ankle the week before, they are still determined to participate.

When I think of the word "perseverance," the first thought that comes to my mind is YouthBuild students. The students who, time after time, are overlooked, not only by the community, but also by the system.

YouthBuild is a global non-profit organization that provides youngsters from ages 16 to 24 who have left traditional high schools an opportunity to pursue their education by earning their high school diploma or an equivalency degree.

While accomplishing this goal, these individuals also gain learning skills in the field of construction to help prepare them for future employment. They also have the opportunity to earn an Americorps award for their hours of community service.

YouthBuild offers mentoring and counseling and helps prepare participants for college and other postsecondary training opportunities. Let me just throw a few statistics out there that I found fascinating. In 2014, just in the United States alone, 260 YouthBuild programs in the United States engaged nearly 9,000 people. Approximately one-third of them had been court-involved.

Guess what? Seventy-seven percent of them obtained their high school diplomas, high school equivalency credentials, and/or industry-recognized credentials through YouthBuild. And 61 percent of them went on to postsecondary education or jobs. You know what's more amazing? The YouthBuild students that had been court-involved averaged 9 percent recidivism rates within just a year of enrollment.

Many of the students left their traditional high school because they were fatigued by the constant violence they were witnessing and/or experiencing, whether at home or not; and the cold shoulder that was turned to them by the traditional high schools and also the social service systems. It is not like they had the supporters that believed in them, motivated them, and encouraged them, the supporters every child needs in order to grow and prosper.

Thus it is understandable why the kids left school. These are all students who had difficult pasts, but they are not allowing their past to determine their future. And as a community, we need to not overlook these young people. We have to look at the students' potential instead of their past, and quite frankly that is not what I have been seeing for quite a while now. Maybe these students did give up on the system (the system also gave up on them), but they did not give up on pursuing their education. They did not give up on bettering their lives!

So, even if the community decides to continue overlooking these students, just know that I do not, and I will not. Because to me, these students are the ideal image of the word "perseverance."

Sumaiyea Uddin is a freshman at B.M.C. Durfee High School and a part of the Fall River Youth Violence Prevention program.