Cordarryl Gray, 29, enrolled at The Excel Center® Meadows in April 2017. He quickly proved that he was motivated to succeed.
Cordarryl, who uses a wheelchair, had originally left high school over a decade ago. Regardless of his circumstances, he maintained a positive attitude. Cordarryl enrolled at The Excel Center because he was ready to move to the next level and understood that he needed a diploma. Cordarryl graduated in February 2018 and was chosen as a student speaker. These were the words he shared with his class and the ceremony guests:
“My name is Cordarryl Gray. I have been attending The Excel Center for over a year, and my experience has been life changing. At the age of 28, I had been out of school for over 10 years. I am in a wheelchair, so that made me nervous and a little scared about coming here. I soon began to realize that I had nothing to worry about. This school felt safe. The more I came to school, the more I realized that this school was more like family, not just classmates and teachers. Because of this relationship, I became very active in school by joining student council and sitting on various community panels.
“I never would have thought I would be able to come back to school to receive a high school diploma. I am looking forward to a brighter future by continuing my education at Ivy Tech, where I will be majoring in Homeland Security and Public Safety. Graduating from high school reassured me that if I put my mind to it, I can succeed.
“I didn't think it was feasible returning to school after being in a life changing accident, which left me unable to walk. I never wanted to give up, even with all of the challenges of getting around the school combined with finding the strength to get out of bed sometimes. Again, even though there were plenty of times when I wanted to stop, the support of my teachers, coaches and family kept me going to reach my goal of getting my diploma. I wanted to come back to school to prove to myself that I could do it, even with this new life challenge that I have to face. This school gave me something that I didn't think was possible at my age.”
To learn more about The Excel Center or to schedule a tour of one of our locations, visit excelcenter.org.
