Student Spotlight: Connor

Hi there! My name is Connor, and I am 23 years old. I was born and raised in Fort Wayne with four siblings. I’m currently working as a childcare site director. I came to The Literacy Alliance to further my career and have something to call my own.

Growing up, my high school experience wasn’t smooth. A lot of my family members happened to become sick during this time. My grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and this led to me becoming his primary caregiver. After taking on such responsibility, I was later diagnosed with panic disorder. I had to go through counseling and therapy and learn coping mechanisms to manage these panic attacks that were interfering with my daily life activities. Unfortunately, this caused me to drop out of school in 2017.

Having no direction in my life, I often found myself staring at the ceiling, questioning, “What am I doing with my life?” This went on for a while until life finally said, “Wake up!” I made a promise to myself and my future that I would go back to school.

I wish to remind others that life is not a competition and that you will graduate when it is your time. Trees blossom at different time frames, but they eventually fully bloom together. Do not rush yourself!

My experience at Literacy Alliance has been relatively short but amazing! My teacher, Amy, has been wonderful and has assisted me in areas where I struggled. The classmates were warm and inviting—all amazing people with bright futures ahead!

Now that I have officially graduated, I plan to continue my education by taking the career path of becoming a licensed family therapist! I have been learning languages that would allow me to help families that wouldn’t normally find much help in English.

This has been a wonderful experience, and I am honored to have met all these wonderful people. I wish to remind others that life is not a competition and that you will graduate when it is your time. Trees blossom at different time frames, but they eventually fully bloom together. Do not rush yourself!