Life has a funny way of taking us on detours. For Wendi, that detour started early, when she was just 16 years old and she dropped out of high school.

Montez Day knows firsthand that a single moment does not define a lifetime. Today, he serves as the Manager of Goodwill New Beginnings at Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana, a role he stepped into in 2025 after starting as a facilitator and receiving several promotions since joining the organization in September 2021. But his path to leadership was shaped by years of transformation, education, and an unwavering belief in the power of second chances.

When Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana and Per Scholas officially partnered in late 2022, they shared a simple but powerful goal: to open doors to opportunity through education. Per Scholas, a national nonprofit that provides no-cost technology career training and job connections, especially for individuals traditionally underrepresented in tech, moved into Goodwill’s corporate offices on West Michigan Street in January 2023. By March, the first cohort of learners had begun, bringing new energy, hope, and possibility into the space.

When Sarah walked into the Goodwill Outlet on Washington Street in 2019 to apply for a job, she was carrying the weight of her past, the uncertainty of recovery and the urgency of starting over. Newly sober, navigating the impact of criminal history, and living in transitional housing after completing a rehabilitation program, she knew finding employment wouldn’t be easy. She also knew it was necessary. What Sarah couldn’t have known that day was just how deeply that decision would change her life.

When Roddrick’s wife secretly signed him up for orientation at The Excel Center® , Goodwill’s tuition-free high school for adults, he thought she was joking. Decades after leaving school in the ninth grade, he walked into class  ready for a fresh start.

When Saja Abbas was in middle school in Iraq, her education came to a sudden halt. The war that began in 2003 disrupted daily life, closing schools and shifting her family’s focus to survival. “I was a kid at home who didn’t understand what was going on,” Saja recalled. “But it was a big impact on my education.”

Adonis’s journey began in November 2014 when he enrolled in the Janitorial Training Program (JTP), which provides on-the-job janitorial training for individuals facing employment barriers. His dedication and hard work led him to graduate from the program and secure full-time employment as a janitor working for Goodwill at the VA Hospital through the AbilityOne program. This federal initiative partners with not-for-profit organizations like Goodwill to provide jobs to persons with disabilities. 

Darnell Bates is a dedicated father, a respected manufacturing supervisor and a mentor to many at Goodwill Commercial Services. But the journey to the life he leads today was anything but easy.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of public schools, Taylor Martin was only 10 credits away from graduating high school; however, she struggled with the online learning format and was unable to finish. Now 23 years old, life hasn’t been easy. 

When Sam Harmeson left high school, they were coping with the death of their mother from a drug overdose and struggling with undiagnosed autism. Shortly after, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, and Sam found it difficult to secure a job, especially without a diploma. In 2023, when Sam and their caretaker and aunt, Bettina Hapney, visited a local Goodwill retail store, Sam learned about an opportunity that would change their life.