From her family uprooting several times to a lack of educational support at home, November’s faced a lot to achieve her high school education. You can find the first part of her story here.

We have good news to share! November received her high school diploma in fall 2017. Now that she has a psychology course and Introduction to Business class under her belt, November is studying philosophy at a nearby community college while continuing to work in the banking industry. She’s considering a career in either teaching or counseling since she loves connecting with and influencing people. Bravo, November!

November’s success is due to her hard work at our partner CareerLink and made possible by our Reconnecting Youth program. Family moves led her to miss several days of high school and she worried we might not get her diploma. Her parents did not put much emphasis on graduating. Luckily, the Reconnecting Youth program has educational advocates who reach out to the 14,000 young people ages 16-24 in King County who don’t have a high school diploma, GED or viable job and get them back on track for success. People like November.

Scale: United Way has grown Reconnecting Youth to 15 sites and more than 7,776 youth served.

Reconnecting Youth helps teens and young adults with one-on-one mentoring throughout the program and education coaching like tutoring and internships. They also get career navigation so future steps toward a career path are less daunting.

By increasing the program to 12 sites and adding partners like colleges and employers, United Way knew it could engage more people of color/high need communities who don’t have access to opportunity. Currently, more than 5,000 young people have participated in the program!