Second chance at high school

All in all, it was a typical high school graduation ceremony — constant applause, emotional overtones and flash bulbs in full force. What wasn’t typical about Friday’s graduation of 15 Orange County Conservation Corps members? The graduates and the stories they had to tell.

A number came from broken homes, several dealt with drug addiction and half of them are raising children of their own. During the ceremony at the Doubletree hotel in Anaheim, however, the graduates officially put their pasts behind them, trading them in for a more promising future.

“You see them coming in with a lot of barriers and struggling with those just to stay with the program with their attendance, family problems and other issues,” said Jacquie Simpson, transition coordinator. “For them to make it is just a huge success.”

The Orange County Conservation Corps is a non-profit organization providing at-risk youth with work and educational opportunities. Corps members work full-time on conservation projects while also getting the chance to earn their diplomas. For many members, it’s likely the last shot they’ll get at a high school degree, Simpson said.

Each graduate carries a unique and ultimately redeeming story of their own. Jackie Cabrera, 22, worked at Huntington Beach’s Bolsa Chica Conservancy this year, but if it wasn’t for a second chance, she doesn’t know where she’d be right now.

“[Initially], I got terminated from the Corps,” she said. “They had invited me to a graduation, I went to the graduation and the executive director asked me if I had found a job [and I hadn’t]. He told me to go back the next week.

“That really got me thinking, is this gonna be my last chance? I had to be more responsible because that was my last chance.”

Cabrera also got inspiration from within, as her brother, Javier, graduated from the Corps and worked his way to becoming an orientation and training specialist. She has followed in the footsteps of her brother now, as the Corps promoted her to a staff position, managing a recycling center in Irvine.

Friday’s ceremony was an emotional one for Cabrera, who entered the Corps with only 45 credits. She was able to graduate despite the pressures of work, school, and raising a 6-year old child. It’s an accomplishment that signals a turning point for the Santa Ana resident.

“I don’t look back anymore,” she said, holding back tears in front of the couple hundred in attendance. “What’s done is done. I’m very happy about who I am today.”

Nichole Edwards, 19, was one of Cabrera’s co-workers at Bolsa Chica. Before joining the Corps, Edwards struggled with agoraphobia, the fear of being in social situations. It was a problem that kept her from going to school; instead, she spent most of her time in her room.

Working toward her high school degree with the Corps helped changed that, however.

“After coming here and sticking with the program I’ve learned to open up,” she said. “That’s my biggest thing.

“When I started opening up, I started gaining confidence. Now I actually want to go to college, I want to do things in life—not hide from everything any more.”

Edwards’ mother, Denise Heimbuecher, was thrilled with the improvements her daughter has made since joining the Corps a year ago.

“How do you put it in just a few words?” she said. “It’s been life-changing.”

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MEET THE GRADUATES

Nichole Edwards, 19

•?Helped with leading tours and conservation at Bolsa Chica.

•?Will attend Fullerton Community College in the Fall.

•?Has hopes of becoming a veterinarian technician in the future.

Jackie Cabrera, 22

•?Is pursuing a degree in criminal justice at Santa Ana College

•?Is now a staff member with the OCCC.

•?Raising a 6-year-old daughter

HOW TO HELP

To learn more about making a donation to the Corps, click here.