He was bullied out of school. This Stanislaus nonprofit is preparing him for college

It is undisputed that education has power. But equally important is the power of believing in your own capabilities.

That is something that doesn’t come easy to a lot of people who walk through our doors at LearningQuest Stanislaus Literacy Centers. Most every student starts with, “I don’t think I can ever pass this test.” It is our challenge to make sure they end up with, “I didn’t realize how smart I was.”

One such student is Elijah Bixby. Though his family split up when he was in second grade, Elijah still had a very supportive upbringing in Ceres with plans to finish school just like any other child. But by seventh grade, his normal days of school ended.

“I was an outcast at school,” he said. “One day I was walking out of class when a guy ran up, punched me in the face, and chased me down the halls. Because the kid got suspended, his friends decided it was my fault and were going to jump me. At that point, I was pulled out. I was always taught to try my best in school, but there was a long while where I stopped caring because of all the pressures I had.”

Elijah enrolled in online classes at Connections Academy until he was in 11th grade. He found a supportive group of friends who helped him find the confidence to keep working on his education. He said, “I was able to grow more and because of that, I wanted to finish my education at a real high school. So I went back.”

Unfortunately, Elijah found that transferred credits weren’t enough to earn his diploma, which would mean taking even more time to graduate. In fear of being left behind as a “super senior,” he came across another option. Already in the school routine and motivated to work hard, Elijah started LearningQuest classes at the end of July.

Stanislaus nonprofit restores self-confidence

“I had this idea in my head for the longest time that I wasn’t that smart of a person. I really fooled myself into believing that,” he said. “After LearningQuest, I got a lot more confident in my abilities and have gotten more motivation to go to college.”

With belief in himself restored, in only three short months Elijah earned his High School Equivalency diploma and has plans to begin classes at Modesto Junior College in the summer.

Many Stanislaus County residents like Elijah may not have a clear path to finishing their education. With help from our community, LearningQuest is doing something about it.

While our organization provides educational services, we like to take things a step further. We make sure every student is given a clear message: “You are capable and you can do it.” Preparing students to pass tests is one thing, but helping students believe in themselves is something every staff member of LearningQuest holds as a core value.

If you want to help more adults have a chance to learn how capable they really are, our Building Hope Scholarship drive raises funds to build hope for 100 students. For more information visit: bit.ly/buildhope21.

This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 4:00 AM.