Frank Rawls

 At 15, he left Deming , NM , a small town of 2,400 people. He perceived he had no opportunity in this environment. He came to Phoenix to join his brother who lived here.

 He immediately started working that summer as a dishwasher.

Living with his brother did not work out . He moved out and lived with some friends who were his fellow employees .

In autumn, he enrolled at Alhambra HS. This was a shock. He had to go through metal detectors to enter. His classmates were into “juvenile stuff”. He had no background for such an experience that seemed to him like a detention center. He quit after 1 week.

 He continued with his job washing dishes at Bullet Pizza until suddenly it was sold.

He then worked at various other jobs. His number one fear was fear of failure, because he felt like he had no self-esteem

 His first life change came when he went to his doctor for a minor health problem. His doctor looked at him and said, "When are you going to start your life?" Now he began to think about his life and what he had accomplished up to this point.

  He did work at a financial center with credit cards and fraud insurance. This was no challenge for him, so he returned to fast food work as a waiter.

With this job, he began to build self-esteem .Waiting on tables he realized if he could do this he could do anything.

 He had made some  attempts at different times to enroll in GED classes.

 Meanwhile he became a bartender. He had gone through training for this job and became quite successful in this role.

 Finally, he contacted several places and made calls about entering GED review classes. Only one person returned his call, Sky Harbor Family Service Center(SHFSC) .  Here he was given the information about classes. He went in and Linda, who was subbing for me, persuaded him to begin the class that day even though he had no tools for study e.g. pencil , paper. He was in class 1 week.

 Frank had a vacation coming to him from his work as bartender. He went to the Grand Canyon and hiked down and out. This was the final step in rebuilding his self-esteem. He quickly realized if he could do this he could anything. He also had trained physically for this challenge.

He returned to the classes at SHFSC after his vacation. By then, I had returned to the classroom. and teaching  after surgery.

My first impression when I met Frank was that he was very personable, with quiet self-assurance, and a very intelligent mind .He quickly moved through the necessary review. Linda from the transition program came in and met with him. He assured her and me that he wanted to take advantage of the 2 classes Rio offered when he had his GED.

Frank was only in my class for about 3  months. He completed all the practice tests with excellent scores, and I told him to start taking his GED exams. Before he left my class I asked Linda to return and talk with him once more for I was assured he would pass all his exams. She did and he did. She helped him enroll in English 101and General Psychology at Phoenix College .

I spoke with Frank this week. He has successfully completed these classes. He will begin the spring semester taking Diversity Education, English 102, and Algebra.

Frank’s goal is to become a math/science high school teacher. With his mature attitude and clear purpose for his life he will succeed.

His motto is, “IT’S NEVER TOO LATE".

 by Jane Milburn from  Rio Salado's City of Phoenix Family Service Center Class.