From jail to G.E.D. and beyond: Mandy makes a better life

 

When Mandy Hollenback dropped out of school at 15 years old, she was falling into a familiar cycle. No one else in her immediate family had gotten a high school diploma, and at the time, leaving school seemed like the best way to escape a difficult home life.

As it turned out, things only grew more difficult for Mandy. Many of the people around her were involved with drugs, and before long, so was she. Mandy became a single mother at age 21, but drugs continued to be a dominating influence on her life.

“They consumed my life,” she said. “I couldn’t see a way out.”

Eventually, she was arrested on felony drug charges and spent 11 days in jail. While sitting in her cell one day, she felt something kick inside her. She was tested and discovered that she was five months pregnant with her second child.

Mandy was ready to change her life, for herself and her babies.

Because the arrest was her first offense, she was placed in the Pre-Trial Intervention Program. The PTI Program required her to go back to school, but she had no reliable childcare, no transportation of her own, worked an unpredictable schedule, and couldn’t afford to pay for childcare. Mandy’s PTI counselor suggested she enroll in the United Way-funded G.E.D. program at United Ministries.

Within weeks, she had taken and passed the G.E.D. exam and was working with United Ministries’ guidance counselor on enrolling in college at Greenville Tech – the first person in her family to ever do so. Her relationship with the guidance counselor would end up being a lifeline as she continued to work through multiple barriers. Most importantly, she says, because of the nurturing attention the program staff gave her, she came to believe she was someone important and she could actually do something meaningful.

In the spring of 2010, Mandy graduated from Greenville Technical College with an associate of arts degree. She is taking courses to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program in social work through the University Center in Greenville and Mandy has every expectation that she will soon realize her childhood dream of becoming a professional counselor.

Now, Mandy is giving back to the program that helped her get her life back. She is in her second year of teaching and mentoring other students in United Ministries’ G.E.D. program.

“I think it helps that I’ve been where they are,” she said. “If I see someone struggling, I’ll pull them aside and tell them, ‘I’ve been right where you are and if I can do it, I know you can, too’.”

But what Mandy is most proud of is her newfound confidence as a mother for her children and the cycle of success she’s created for the next generation. Her daughter Kassie – a second grader – is already reading at the fourth grade level, and her young son Cody is set to follow in their footsteps.

“I think they see how important school is to me, and because they see me working hard, they want to do it, too,” she said.