Terrence

Terrence attended Fanning Middle and participated in UrbanFUTURE for three years. He is the first of his thirteen brothers and sisters to go to college and he attributes his success to UrbanFUTURE and its insistence in maintaining a relationship (weekly conversations) with Grandma Mary, his guardian, and the unrelenting requirement that he never give up.  Currently Terrence is attending Columbia College in Missouri studying criminal justice.  He plans on entering the police academy in 2012.

Earl

Early in the year, Earl's mother, LaTeva, noticed his math grade slipping. LaTeva worked with Earl's mentor, Darian, to set a goal of raising that grade by the end of the school year and signed Earl up for IMPACT tutoring twice a week. Darian and Earl also set a goal for Earl to study math at home a little bit each night.

LaTeva made sure that Earl went to IMPACT tutoring and she also worked with Darian to be sure that they were on the same page with Earl's goals. LaTeva took the lead by setting high expectations for Earl's math grade, then working with Darian, teachers and UF staff to get the right resources in place and to set action steps for reaching the ultimate goal. Earl raised his math grade to an A by the end of the year! LaTeva says, "Darian has been a great inspiration to Earl and my family. Darian has inspired Earl to stay focused, stay on task and to never give up. Earl's attitude, behavior, and reading habits have improved. I have seen a change in my son from beginning to end. Thanks."

Antonio

Antonio is not afraid to tell anyone, including adults, his opinion on how he feels about anything. Sometimes his sharp tongue has gotten him into trouble with his parents and his teachers. Starting early in the 2nd semester, Antonio began meeting with his newly assigned mentor, Gene, on a weekly basis. Gene worked hard early on to build a strong relationship with Antonio and his parents, Lolita and Donald.

Antonio put up a fight with Gene when it came to reading during their mentoring sessions. Gene found out he wasn't the only one that had a hard time getting Antonio to read. Lolita informed Gene that Antonio rarely read at home. The turning point came during a very difficult conversation that took place when Gene attended parent-teacher conferences with Antonio's parents and his teacher Ms. Rohring. Gene admits that sitting in on the conference was difficult, but he said it assisted everyone in the team understand their role in helping Antonio become a better and more consistent student.

After conferences, Lolita and Antonio read for 20 minutes before doing anything else when he got home. Gene and Antonio worked together to find reading material that interested him. They began to read books on space and science. Now Antonio eagerly awaits his meeting with Gene to read and discuss anything and everything that is on his mind. While Antonio still is exploring his possibilities, he has begun to develop a love of and a habit for reading instilled by his parents, his teacher and his mentor.