Jose Rojas, Jr.

Before I was in YouthBuild, I used to just relax at my house doing pretty much nothing almost all week long. Now that I am in YouthBuild, I really do enjoy helping myself and others in my community. Leadership is one of the many things that YouthBuild shows to the students and to the staff. I know that I am and can be a part of the difference in my community and all that surrounds it. YouthBuild has been helping young adolescences to achieve a goal in their life in order to get a General Education Diploma (GED).

A year back, I didn’t finish high school because of not passing the Texas Assessment and Knowledge Skills (TAKS). Now, I am making a difference in my personality, education, and a commitment to my community. There are many changes that have happened and continue happening in the time that I have been in the YouthBuild program. The changes that happened to me are going straight to a positive path in my great future ahead of me.

In the YouthBuild program everything that you learn has a direct impact on you. It has with me. My achievement was in getting my GED. Now that I have my GED, I look forward to having a good paying job. I believe that the higher the education you have then a better paying job would be waiting for you. This really shows me that YouthBuild does make a difference.

The past months have showed me that the work in construction can be a little stressful and fatiguing, but I know that I can surpass the expectations and goals in construction training. Having experienced this type of a job takes a lot of physical tasks, as well as being good in mathematics.

My experience with the YouthBuild program from the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville (CDCB) is showing me how to help my community by way of doing volunteer service hours. Also leadership is the main focus of the program, since they are building leaders for our future generations – like me.

Elizabeth Cano

I am going to write about my life in YouthBuild. I have made many changes since I have been here in YouthBuild. My changes are waking up early in the mornings, being more respectful, and also performing every task I am assigned to do in education and at the construction sites.

First of all, waking up early in the mornings to get ready for school was not an easy task for me. For the past 4 years, I did not attend school. It was really hard for me. But, here at YouthBuild the staff has made it easier for me to wake up and get to YouthBuild on time. In YouthBuild, you receive detention if you come in late to school. I think it is a great rule for students because detention really makes it easier for us to arrive early and this will certainly help us in the future when we begin with our new jobs.

Second of all, YouthBuild has also helped me to become more respectful towards others. When I entered YouthBuild, I was really loud and disrespectful. I would answer back to the teachers. But now, I have changed. Today, I am a really good person. I respect others and I answer in a courteous manner. Also YouthBuild has given me confidence in my skills at work and at home. I was a really negative person. Now that I am here in school, it has made me a positive person in many ways. One aspect in which YouthBuild has helped me is in my self-confidence of being able to get my GED. This has helped me in a positive way, because I would say that I was never going to be able to pass it. Here in YouthBuild, the staff has made me think differently and helped my confidence in myself.

Third of all, being able to perform my task in education and at construction is a really helpful way to acquire essential working skills. I get to help others in building their homes and help myself by learning many things I did not know before. Being a mom of a 1 year old child made it difficult for me to do my homework because I also had to take care of my child. YouthBuild helped me by providing tutors after class and also by aligning me with quality mentors. Having this kind of help really makes my heart proud. It shows me that the staff really cares about my future and me.

Thanks to YouthBuild I now think of myself as a positive person. My future plans are no longer limited because I now have a willingness to work hard. I have learned that anything that is worth having in life will require hard work. Like my dad always told me, “Con trabajo, todo se puede” (With work, anything is possible).

Jorge Ruiz looks on his work

Five months ago, I dropped out of high school. I spent my time waking up late and going to bed late. I thought that was life, but one day I realized I was not doing much towards the goals I had planned for life. At that moment I started looking for alternative programs that would help me get a G.E.D. When I least expected, I had found hope; I was now sitting in the YouthBuild office filling an application.

Nowadays most jobs require a High School Diploma or a G.E.D., without either I know I would be lost again. YouthBuild has helped me in many ways. One of the most important ways it has helped me is getting me closer to my G.E.D. My goal is to enroll in the military and be making the kind of money I want to earn for myself and for my future family…

YouthBuild offers you a skill, construction, which everyone should eventually know about and be familiar with. Construction, here at YouthBuild, makes a difference to the community not only here in Brownsville but in the whole nation. We build homes for low-income families all over the city and get to meet a lot of friendly people. We get to learn something about their lives.

Two reasons why I dropped out of school were because of my absences and not being responsible of my classes. I was being sent to court almost every year. But since I started coming to YouthBuild, it has made me more responsible not only for school, but for later in life. YouthBuild has made me a leader and now I’m responsible for my actions. If I arrive late to school, I have to pay with 30 minutes of detention. I realize detention is the result of my actions.

YouthBuild has changed my entire life and also the way I think about my family, others, and myself. YouthBuild opens its doors to anyone who is struggling with his or her life. This program is a real chance of a lifetime. Hopefully, I get my G.E.D. soon, so I can move on to a better life.

Osvaldo Lopez, YouthBuild Student

YouthBuild is a good program where young adults can get their G.E.D. YouthBuild provides students with a second chance to amend bad decisions made in their past. Since enrolling in YouthBuild, I have learned to be responsible, mature, and a leader.

My responsibility has improved since entering the YouthBuild program. I am always on time to school and work, because I know that if I am late I can be expelled from the program. The homework is a responsibility that needs to be done to comprehend what was taught. This will help me get more knowledge and do better in the G.E.D. test.

I feel that for the time in which I have been in YouthBuild, my maturity has grown tremendously. I know that life is hard. Obtaining my G.E.D. is the most important decision that I have made. Due to my immaturity I did not finish school, but I got a second chance and I have learned the importance that the G.E.D. is in order to get a good job and help my family.

Sometimes, I need to be a leader and here at YouthBuild I can prove that my leadership is loyal and professional. The job site is one of the areas where I need to be a leader. The word “leader” for me includes helping others and teaching them how to do the job right. When I see something wrong I try to talk to them, explain what they are doing wrong, and then help them if I can. I appreciate my leaders here at YouthBuild and thanks to YouthBuild for teaching me leadership skills.

My experience in YouthBuild has made an immense impression in my life. Thanks to YouthBuild I have learned to think for myself in a positive way. I am very grateful for the change in my life that YouthBuild has made in me. Thank you for changing my life for the better.