Future students

Meet Nathan: Reaching the Next Level
 

Date published: March 25, 2021

 

  Lancaster, PA


“HACC has bettered my life by allowing me to further my education and helping me separate myself from others by reaching that next level and getting my degree.”

Nathan, a psychology student at HACC, said there are four people he will “need forever” and who helped him choose HACC. The first two are his children. Nathan said that “wanting to do better for them as well as myself is more than enough motivation for signing up for HACC.” The other two people are his mentor and best friend. “Without my fantastic four I would not be as motivated as I am right now,” he said.

Nathan grew up in New York with a parent who struggled with addiction. His family moved from shelter to shelter without stable housing, and he said there were “plenty of hungry nights because we couldn’t afford food.”

Eventually, he moved to Pennsylvania and said he “began to become part of crowds I had no business with especially because of my age.” Nathan was incarcerated multiple times before he met his mentor and learned about the Bench Mark Program. After being shot in 2016, Nathan reached out to his mentor and worked his way up to a become a student service coordinator at the Bench Mark Program, where he helps build future leaders and impact the community.

Nathan said, “Going through this and more has taught me so many valuable lessons and helped me become who I am today. Although I am not finished becoming the best version of myself, [my mentor] challenges me and pushed me to be who I am today.”

Now a college student, Nathan said, “HACC has bettered my life by allowing me to further my education.” He added, “HACC so far has been great. I think people should know that every time I have needed help with a class professors make it easy to take time out to further explain and help me better comprehend whatever it may be.”

After graduating from HACC, Nathan plans to transfer and pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

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