The life-changing lesson I learned from drug addicted and hopeless students

By Johanna Voeller

Have you ever embarked on a journey, thinking you were going for a specific purpose, but in the end, your destination and experience affected you in a deep, personal and life-changing way you never expected?

Last week I attended a scholarship workshop to acquire tools and knowledge to enhance the CollegePlus! program for CollegePlus! students. I had the mindset that I was attending this workshop specifically for my job at CollegePlus!, but I came away astounded at how God used this experience to form a deep and meaningful impression in my own heart, affecting my life purpose, vision, mentality, and perspective on life.

On the final day of our training we went to work with a class of 40 ninth grade students to implement what we learned in the workshop. These particular students were handpicked by the school counselor because of their academic and life difficulties.

The morning began with a show of hands to see who believed they were going to college. Two students raised their hand.

Imagine this is your story

You’re a 15 year old girl with a fractured family. Your dad’s in jail and your mom’s a drug addict living in poverty. You have no “home” so you live with your boyfriend because no one else cares for you.

This is your second time repeating ninth grade and you’re definitely not going to college because your parents didn’t, and besides, there’s no money anyway. Your parents and classmates are your only role models but their lives are more messed up than yours.

You have no one to envision for you what you are capable of accomplishing in life, and what could happen if you pursued your dreams.

Drug addicts, prostitutes, and homeless

This story is the true story of those 40 students. At age 15 some are drug addicts, some are prostitutes, and some are abandoned and rejected with no capacity to love or be loved by others. Others are homeless or illegal immigrants with no hope for a successful future.

How do you begin to empower youth with huge obstacles in their way?

First, I shared with them my own personal obstacles that I had to overcome. I shared that in spite of those obstacles I could stand before them and say, “I did it and you can too!”

I identified with them as I described how I grew up most of my life in a single parent home, with little money, and yet I had a lot of interests. I love art, music, education, interior design and at one point I wanted to be a fashion designer.

The only way I could pursue my dreams was to work hard, and that’s what I did. I started my own business handcrafting and selling at fairs and craft shows, I tutored, and took advantage of opportunities that came along.

When it was time to start college, I knew that’s what I had to do in order to accomplish the task I believed God set before me; to work with orphans in third world countries. I was able to overcome obstacles in my way and because of those obstacles I realized the value of hard work, self-motivation and perseverance.

After hearing my story about college, the students were inspired, motivated and wanted to know exactly how to follow the same path to earn a college degree.

The "role" of a role model

I came to this realization—the biggest resource these youth need is a role model; a living, breathing person they can identify with and whose example they can follow. We set to work right then, and in 20 minutes we helped them create a dynamic life purpose statement.

Based on their talents and giftings, we helped them envision how they could affect other people’s lives. It was awesome to see their eyes light up as they said, “Really? I could be a songwriter and musician?” Or, “I could have my own cooking show on TV?”

Do you realize how incredible it is for a teenager to speak these words? A teenager who believes they’ll just get locked up, be a drug addict, or become a teenage parent?

At the end of the day nearly every hand was raised when they were asked again, “Who is going to college?” In just 7 hours we were able to spark the minds of these students. We saw their lives being transformed by giving them hope and vision. Without that, people perish!

It's up to you!

You may be thinking, “I’m young, who would listen to me and how could my words affect someone’s future?” Let me tell you, I’m only 19 and I experienced the power my words and example had to change these students minds about their own future and to get them dreaming about how they can change their world.

The reality that there’s hopeless and deeply troubled teens out there may be foreign to you, especially if you come from a safe, homeschooled background. But, I want you to think outside the box and realize you have the potential right now to be a role model to people who desperately need one.

Getting your college education, alternatively, at a young age, commands the respect of young and old, and opens numerous doors for opportunities to be a role model in society.

Realize this—CollegePlus! is more than a higher education program, it’s a program with a vision and mission to enable you, no matter what your background is, to reach your full potential and discover your unique role in changing the world.

Go out and change the world!

Share this blog post over Facebook to help inspire effectual change in the lives of young people who the world considers to be worthless.

Johanna Johanna passionately enjoys interior decorating, painting, mission trips, teaching violin, and jamming with other musicians. Johanna is currently serving on the CollegePlus! team as the Strategic Relations Liaison.

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3 comments so far - Leave a comment below

Awesome story and very inspirational!

— Trey Friday, December 10, 2010 12:17 PM CST

Our homeschool students need to read this! You reveal the other side of homeschooling which is students on drugs and on the streets. What hope we can give them, the hope of Christ and a better way.

— Ms. Holly Friday, December 10, 2010 12:31 PM CST

Thanks for the encouragement to invest in the lives of those less fortunate. May God continue to use this experience in your life to keep exhorting others, especially when you get to that third world country.

— Margaret Friday, December 17, 2010 3:29 PM CST

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