Comment from an ECA grad after bleacher report video... Hit me hard... ----------------------- I just wanted to post on here as a voice that has not been heard as of yet. I am a C/O 2014 alum (May Graduate) of Eastern Christian. I would also call myself one of those at-risk kids that was once lost in the Delaware school system. I will start by telling my story which starts with me as a 9th grade student attending a Delaware Charter School that has since been shut down by the state as a Failing School. But even before the school shut down I was a talented football player that basically went to school and played football. I did no work, and no one cared until I failed off the team before the playoffs started. I ended my 9th grade year with a below 2.0 grade point avg but was some how still eligible to play football my sophomore year. My sophomore year was no different than my freshman year. I Failed of the team once again, and again.... no one cared. Its not like I was a dumb kid, I was just a lazy one with nobody behind him to make hi do anything. At home my mom had been laid off since the summer before my 9th grade year as a result of the of the recession, and my father died my sophomore year. So I was stressed out figuring out day to day how we were going to pay certain bills. I was worried about things someone my age had no reason worrying about. At the end of my sophomore year my home caught on fire, and my family was forced into temporary housing. My junior year I figured it was time for a change. I decided to make a change for the better, I needed to change my surroundings academically in a way that would help me fix what I did the past two years in school. I thought that ECA would be a perfect opportunity to better my chances for a college scholarship, and better my grades so i enrolled the fall of 2013. My mother (already not liking the idea of my attending ECA), and I met would ECAs Guidance/Academic counselor for the first time (also a football coach), and at this time I also saw my GPA for the first time. Well let me put it like this.....he straight up dogged me, and my mother because of how bad it was. This was the first time someone got in my AS* for my grades, and it really lit a light bulb in my head. I will also say that after this meeting my mom was sold to the program. I soon found out I was not the college prospect I imagined myself to be. So after my junior year at ECA I talked to the coaches about my future in football, and they said they had no idea.... but were very proud of the strides i made as a person, and in the classroom. At home the bills still were not being paid, and I was getting basically no support. There was even a time that my mother suggested that I drop out, get my GED, and a job to help out because she could not afford ECA anyway. I talked to the staff about the problems I was having, they told me to not worry about it. At this point I decided that i should put a lot more focus on a future that is best for me, and make goals that are more than reachable, and not what had turned into a pipe dream. My senior year I got hurt early in the season, and basically caused me to lose a lot of my playing time. I then tore my ACL later in the season. After this I made the very hard decision to no pursue playing football anymore, and the coaches, staff, and Sills family were very supportive. I decided to pursue a career in the military. I ended my 2nd, and last year at ECA with a 2 year cumulative GPA of a 3.8. I will say this with all the confidence in the world that I would not have graduated high school if I had not attended ECA. I did not have the best athletic success, but I believe I gained much more than that. I gained a family that I can always go back to if ever need anything. Like I said before I was not the best football player on the team by a long shot, but it didnt matter, the parents, staff, and students all knew that I had a great life a head of me beyond football. I still find myself stopping by the school and just hanging out with the students, and letting the younger guys know that no matter what anyone tells you, there is more than life than athletics. I have a unique story being the only graduate that has pursued something other than football after school, and I am more than happy about that. I will also say that this school is not perfect yet, but what young family is? I believe that just like a family, the school will only get better, and more structured, as the generations of alum get larger, and the school gets older. I am very thankful for the opportunity, and all the help that Mr, and Mrs have given me, and the support from the staff, students, and parent have shown. They are truly my family.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 20:29:47 +0000
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