Alice and Eugene Ford Family Foundation

“Education matters. It gives people a start and propels them forward.”

Academy of Hope’s longtime relationship with the Alice and Eugene Ford Family Foundation began more than ten years ago. Shortly after some neighboring education and workforce programs shuttered their doors, the late Eugene F. Ford Sr. reached out to Lecester to see how he could support the efforts at Academy of Hope. Mr. Ford founded MidCity Developers, Inc. (now MidCity Financial Corporation) and Edgewood Management Corporation. His deep commitment to providing affordable housing and supportive services to families with low income made for a natural partnership with AoH. Lecester remembers that “Mr. Ford was very humble, and he didn’t like any attention for his gifts. He told me that he gave to AoH because he knew we were going to do what we said we would with his money. His family had a genuine commitment to the communities where they’re operating, and they wanted to make a difference.”

Indeed Mr. Ford’s support was essential in transforming lives and strengthening communities. In 2009, recognizing the urgent need for AoH’s services in the Ward 8 community, Mr. Ford made a gift that allowed AoH to establish a site in the Congress Heights neighborhood. It remains the largest gift ever received by AoH from an individual donor. When AoH first opened our doors in Ward 8, we occupied just a few rooms in The Overlook apartment buildings—a space provided by Edgewood Management Corporation. Since then, AoH’s Ward 8 campus has grown into a new space on Alabama Avenue and serves roughly 250 students through our daytime and evening programs. “Looking back,” Lecester said “there’s no way we would have been able to expand to Ward 8 without the Ford family.”

Eugene Ford Sr.’s generous support continues today through his family. Just this year, MidCity Financial Corporation provided the resources needed for AoH to conduct a market research study so that we can better understand how to reach DC residents in need of our services. Gene Ford Jr., current Board Chair of MidCity Financial Corporation, says he is devoted to continuing the mission his family started. “My mom and dad understood the importance of providing educational opportunities to the residents and that commitment carried on to the current generation at MidCity and Edgewood. Education matters. It gives people a start and propels them forward. Academy of Hope gives people a chance. It really does change lives,” said Mr. Ford.  He continued, “It is clear to us that the school’s adult education services could be a benefit for many of our residents. Pairing affordable housing with educational opportunities is a way of connecting the dots—helping our residents gain the education and skills they need to secure meaningful employment, and ultimately, to improve their lives.”

The seeds that the Ford Family Foundation helped AoH plant in Ward 8 continue to grow. As we celebrate our 35th anniversary next year, AoH will be raising funds to support a major renovation so that our space can better meet the needs of all learners. At the helm of those efforts is Mr. Ford’s granddaughter, Madi Ford, Vice President and General Counsel at MidCity. Madi is an active member of AoH’s Board of Directors and stepped up to serve as Chair of our 35th Anniversary Gala. Click here to learn more about the many ways you can join us as we take this opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments and turn our focus to redefining the future of adult education.

AoH is deeply grateful for the support of the Alice and Eugene Ford Family Foundation, and we look forward to continuing to build our relationship through our 35th year and beyond!

We want to hear your story, too! We’re collecting stories of your experiences with Academy of Hope. If you’d like to use your experience to inspire others, consider sharing your story here.

Marie Brown

“My diploma is like a paycheck because a lot of companies and jobs want that high school diploma.”

Marie Brown, 52, transferred to Academy of Hope in 2016 from another adult public charter school because she wanted an environment that emphasized one-on-one learning. She says she found exactly that at AoH. “I could cry because I feel safe here. I don’t feel neglected. I go with the flow, and the teachers are there when I need them. I have days when I don’t want to come, but it’s because of personal reasons. I come anyway, and I think accomplishing what I want and knowing that I need this education is making me want to come more.”

A DC native, Marie worked for over 20 years without her high school diploma. Her last position was as a scheduler for the outpatient clinic at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Marie served as a volunteer at the hospital for two years before they hired her full time. “I loved that job,” she says, “because I’m a people’s person, so customer service is very key for me. I love helping out.”

Marie was content in her career but felt as though there was a ceiling because she did not have her high school diploma, and she wanted to move up. After graduation, she says, “I’m running back to work. My diploma is my paycheck because a lot of companies and jobs want that high school diploma. They’re looking to see whether you have it, and I don’t want any barriers to lock me down.” Indeed, National Rehabilitation Hospital encouraged Marie to return to school and assured her they will find a spot for her when she returns post-graduation.

In addition to wanting to excel in her career, Marie says she came back to school because she wanted to set a good example for her five kids. She originally left school in the 11th grade because she had children, and she says it took until now to take the time to focus on her own education. Her youngest child, a daughter enrolled in DCPS, is set to cross her own graduation stage in June 2020. Marie proudly proclaims, “We’re going to graduate together! I encourage her, and she encourages me!”

Marie is enrolled in AoH’s National External Diploma Program (NEDP) and says it’s a great fit for her study habits and work ethic. “I like it because I’m moving at my own pace and not being rushed…I’ve advanced myself to a lot of places that I never thought I could. I was never good at math, and I’ve really accomplished that. I don’t have any fear of trying to solve anything anymore.”

Marie also says she appreciates the chance to access technology—an important element of the computer-based NEDP program.

She doesn’t have access to a computer at home, though that will change soon since AoH was able to help her secure a voucher for a refurbished laptop. “Once I have that, I can do my work at home. But I’ll still come to school because I like the community and chance to be part of other activities.”

In addition to getting back to work, Marie says she’d like to go to college after graduation and eventually become a social worker. She’s encouraging her youngest daughter to enroll in community college, as well. But for now, she is focused solely on earning her diploma. “Having that in my possession makes me important. Having a high school diploma is going to be one of the most wonderful things to have. You can say that you got an education. With your high school diploma, you can do anything you want!”

Reggie Bryant

“I’ve started a lot of projects and never finished. But when I started here at Academy of Hope, it was a brand new day for me.”

Paul “Reggie” Bryant was born in 1948 in Washington and was raised in NE. He was the seventh of his mother’s 13 children. He says he has some happy memories from childhood but that growing up without a dad was tough. “I used to make up stories to put my father in the picture,” he recalls. “But I would always get caught in my lies.” Friends made him the butt of jokes, poking fun at his family and his $2 tennis shoes. Meanwhile, Reggie struggled to read and write in school. “I had to fake it.  I learned to talk well and use big words, even if I could not spell them.” Unfortunately, he fell further behind his peers each year, until he was finally held back in 8th grade.

Reggie felt “ashamed and heart-broken,” he says. So he dropped out at age 14 without discussing his decision with anyone. Hoping to learn a trade and earn some money to buy nice clothes, Reggie enrolled in Job Corps in West Virginia. Although he enjoyed learning to operate heavy equipment, he left the training program after less than a month and returned to DC. He managed to go back to school but decided to stay for less than a year.

Reggie started working in housekeeping and in the kitchen at PG County Hospital and then Sibley Hospital. When he was 21, Reggie married a woman named Wanda and took on a fatherly role to Wanda’s daughter, Sheena. He and Wanda also had two other children, Ayoka (“gift from God”) and Soyica, before they ultimately divorced. Reggie has four additional children, but he says, “I was not able to be the good father and family man that I wanted to be.”

Reggie attributes many of his struggles—in education, in the workforce and at home—to his use and abuse of drugs. “I spent 40 years in active addiction,” he says. In the late 1980’s, he was arrested and charged for possession. He spent many subsequent years in and out of prison and moved several times from a halfway house to the street and to shelters.

By 2007, Reggie entered therapy, joined both an addiction treatment program and Narcotics Anonymous and finally entered recovery from his addiction. It was at NA that he met Diane, the woman who became his second wife. Then, while taking a course at UDC to learn how to apply for jobs online, Reggie heard about Academy of Hope. With Diane’s encouragement, he entered in 2013.

Looking back at his journey to AoH, Reggie says, “I’m a Native Washingtonian. I didn’t come from a foreign country like some of my peers. I didn’t travel that far to get here, but I did travel a long ways.” Soon after enrolling, Reggie entered the National External Diploma Program (NEDP). He describes his NEDP experience as “the most extensive and rewarding education I’ve ever had.” He loved the mixture of ages, the “unique teaching techniques,” and just enjoyed coming to school. “God must have put all these people together to give us the best learning environment. I could not have accomplished what I have without all the wonderful teachers and volunteers.”

Reggie was a diligent student—always present and focused on the task at hand. Finally, in 2017, he completed the requirements for the NEDP and earned his high school diploma. Summing up his experience, Reggie says, “I have a learning disability. I’m dyslexic. I dropped out of school at 14 years old and went to work. I couldn’t read or write until I was in my 40’s…I had a real hard time. I’ve been in and out of institutions. I never imagined in all my travels that I would graduate from anything. I’ve started a lot of projects and never finished. But when I started here at Academy of Hope, it was a brand new day for me.”

Reggie didn’t just see growth inside the classroom or on his exams. “Academy of Hope played a very important part in the building of my self-esteem.” On several occasions, Reggie was asked to speak on AoH’s behalf—something he said meant a lot to him. “By acknowledging my efforts to improve myself, they have given me a sense of self-worth for the first time in my life.  They built my self-esteem and self-confidence.  Now I believe anything I set my mind to, I can accomplish.”

On graduation day, Reggie served as a speaker one last time. He closed his remarks by saying, “Today, I am proud of myself. Today, I am glad to be who I am. Today, I thank god for my journey because I had to go through all that I went through to get where I am today.”

After graduation, Reggie began working at a drug treatment program and at a transitional housing facility and started studying online to become a certified Addiction Specialist, with the goal of becoming an Addiction Counselor. “I believe this is what I’m supposed to be doing, it is an opportunity to be a living example for once in my life.”

Mui Derr
“I don’t want to stop, I want to keep learning”

Mui was born in 1957 outside a small town in South Vietnam. She was the first of eight children.
Her Chinese father and Vietnamese mother owned a home and two clothing businesses. She
attended school as a child and says, “I loved learning and was especially interested in
geography.” But as the family’s first daughter, she had to care for the younger children. So with
great sadness, she left school in 1972 at the age of 15.

In 1975 North Vietnam defeated South Vietnam, and Mui’s life changed dramatically. The family
lost their home and their businesses and was sent to work in the mountains. As her father was
Chinese, they received one-half the normal food allocation, which left them constantly hungry,
and because their IDs had been confiscated, they could not get medical care or travel.
After roughly five years, they were allowed to return to their hometown, though without IDs, a
home, or even a license to sell goods, they continued to struggle. At first they slept in the
market, later they squatted in their old house. During this period they survived only with help
from neighbors and their father’s former business associates.

Finally in 1988, as part of the official census, the family obtained IDs, and Mui’s father helped
Mui and her sister leave Vietnam. With a bit of gold that he had sewn into the hem of his shirt,
he paid smugglers to get his daughters to the North, and then to China. Roughly two years later,
she and her sister made it to Hong Kong where Mui lived in a refugee camp for five years.
In 1994, the Hong Kong government declared that Mui and other refugees had to return to
Vietnam. In protest, she joined a group called “Freedom or Die” and went on a hunger strike
until it was deemed too dangerous for her health. A year later, Mui was able to leave Hong Kong
for the US when the International Organization for Migration gave her a plane ticket (which she
repaid at $50 a month for two years). After stops in Japan and Los Angeles, she finally arrived in
Washington, DC.

Once in the US, Mui took a job as a housekeeper at The Courtyard Marriott Hotel. In this
position, she was able to save money and send it back to family and friends in Vietnam. She also
made an effort to learn English, and through her sister, she met a man in 1999 who helped
teach her. One year later, she married him in Las Vegas, in Vietnam and in DC!
Unfortunately, after working steadily for 12 years, in 2007 Mui lost her job. Having seen signs at
the unemployment office for GED classes and National External Diploma Programs, she realized
that she might find a better job if she could get a high school credential. Mui started her studies
at Academy of Hope in 2008.
Looking back at her time at Academy of Hope, she says: “I loved it! If there was something I
didn’t know, everyone can help me.” She especially appreciated the kindness and the support
she got from the AoH teachers, and from her tutor, Dilys, who taught her written English and
grammar, and who tailored support to Mui’s practical needs.

In 2009, Mui took a job as a cleaner at Georgetown University. Working from 5pm – 10pm seven
days a week, she attended class during the day. When in 2013 she switched to the 6:00am –
2:30pm shift five days a week, she continued her NEDP course online and through weekly
meetings with her tutor. She also got help on breaks from many Georgetown students who
showed her how to use her new lightweight computer. She learned much from them, including
how to create bar graphs and pie charts, and she is proud to have taught these skills to her
tutor!
In September 2016—eight years after she started her education journey at AoH—Mui
completed the National External Diploma Program and earned her high school diploma! Three
years later, Mui is still employed at Georgetown University. She has been repeatedly offered

Yeny Avelar

“Now that I’m in school, I’m thinking bigger. I want bigger things in my life. I want to do more. I want to learn more stuff.”

Yeny Avelar’s wife found Academy of Hope online immediately after learning that Yeny, age 32, did not already have her high school diploma. “It was mandatory, if I wanted to stay married,” Yeny says with a laugh. “She never asked me about it before, and I didn’t think it was a really important point.”

Originally from El Salvador, Yeny was raised by her grandparents, neither of whom knew how to read or write. “My grandfather didn’t believe in me going to school. I started going to school at seven because my aunt came to get me and took me to the city. I had to go to the city because I was in a small town.” She says that her grandparents didn’t prioritize education. “They believed more in work—that work will get you what you need in life. I grew up on a farm, so we had to take care of a lot of animals. You can’t take any breaks. You have to do it all the time.”

After just a few years in school, Yeny left in the ninth grade to move to the United States. “After leaving home and coming to America, the main thing you got to do is work. I worked in restaurants. In the back of the kitchen, I did a lot of hard work washing dishes, rolling silverware, line cook, prepping food…but I started to like it because I started to learn English.” Deciding to enroll in classes at AoH wasn’t an easy decision for Yeny, especially because it required her to shift her focus. “I was angry because I felt like I had to slow down my work and so I was losing money.” That feeling didn’t last long, though. “Coming in and just seeing everyone’s spirit—their happy and motivated spirit—and to see the older students that are here, they were inspirational. They inspired me to say it’s never too late to go back to school…It’s hard, but I feel like it’s temporary and it’s worth it.”

Yeny doesn’t share her grandparents’ view on education, especially when it comes to raising her 11 year old son. “My son is smarter than me. He’s learning so much, and it’s forced me to say that I need to take myself back to school.” Yeny says her son knows she’s in school. “He’s really happy for me…and I’m getting more involved in his learning. We get to read more together and help each other out with our math and reading…It’s special. It’s moments that I never had with my parents. So, I’m stepping up my game to be a better parent for my son and teach him to do the right thing because without school, you have nothing. Learning is so important. No one can take that away from you.”

Yeny says she wants to earn her high school diploma and then go back to work. While she hasn’t settled on a career choice just yet, she says she’s interested in learning more about computers. “Technology is one of the most important things these days, so I feel like it would be a good field for me and you can do a lot of things with it.” To get started, Yeny took a basic computer skills class at AoH and is eager to dive deeper through our Office Administration Career Academy. “At AoH, while you are trying to earn your high school diploma, you also walk out of here being certified in office administration, hospitality and healthcare. I feel like that’s just a wonderful thing to have available—to do two things at the same time.”

Yeny says that coming to AoH has opened her mind to new opportunities. “Now that I’m in school, I’m thinking bigger. I want bigger things in my life. I want to do more. I want to learn more stuff…without school, you get stuck in your routine. You don’t want to experience anything, you get stuck in the same job you had, and you just stay in your same place in life.” Yeny continues, “I used to believe that coming to America was the dream. I wish that someone would have told me that learning is the dream. If you learn and you stay in school, you will be successful no matter where you are.”

Yeny notes that it took some time, but her grandfather learned a similar lesson. “After seeing all of his kids and grandkids going to America and never coming back, it motivated him to give a piece of land to build a school in my hometown. He finally got it at the end. He finally saw that if we could have learned back home, we could have had a good life there. It was not necessary for us to come to America to have a good life. If we could have stayed home and stayed in school, we could have had what we needed.”

Marja Hilfiker

“I feel like a gardener who tries her best to get plants started…this garden has really thrived, and that seems like a huge blessing.”

As a member of the Church of the Savior, Marja Hilfiker and her fellow congregants were encouraged to “find the place where your greatest desire meets the pain of the world.” To do that, Marja spent about fifteen months searching for her “call.” One day, the call literally came, and Gayle Boss was on the other end. Marja remembers Gayle saying, “Would you like to start teaching GED classes with me?” Marja admits that she didn’t quite know what the GED was at the time, but her heart started immediately beating faster. Together, Marja and Gayle opened Academy of Hope’s doors in 1985 in a small room in the basement of a church in Adams Morgan.

Though they didn’t know each other well before getting started, Marja remembers “Gayle seemed like a very conscientious, kind person.” And they made a good pair—each bringing a different set of skills to the table. “She wanted to teach math, and that suited her very well because it’s precise, and it was something that I had no experience teaching. But I had been teaching English already…teaching writing was my specialty.”

Indeed, while Academy of Hope was a new venture, teaching had long been part of Marja’s life. She was a high school teacher by trade herself and came from a family of teachers. Of course, teaching adults was different than high school “in many satisfying ways,” says Marja. “I never really clicked in high school. It seemed like many of the students were going through the motions—just trying to get a good grade—and some of them just want to meet the requirements. Adult students seemed to be more goal-oriented. They were my peers in many ways, and I really enjoyed that much of the school was about friendship. It was about getting to know each other. Encouragement seemed to be one of the main goals of the school, and the students were a tremendous encouragement to me.”

At the time Gayle originally reached out, Marja was a member of a parent group called “Hope in a Home.” Marja remembers that the group met weekly to talk about issues that the parents were facing. It was through her participation in this group that Marja met Linda Brown. “When we started Academy of Hope, I knew Linda would be an eager student and a huge blessing to us. She was truly a co-founder of Academy of Hope.” Linda started attending classes daily, despite the responsibilities of being a mother to four young children and her two hour commute each way to school. “She was the perfect student for us. She wasn’t ready to take her GED at all—she really had a ways to go, but she was really lapping it up and making suggestions as to how to teach her better. Her presence really encouraged everybody—other students and us. Otherwise, 18 months of having people drifting in and out would have been really hard. But having one student who really focused—and we knew she was going to get there—that made a big difference for us.”

Finally, after a year and a half of diligent studying, Linda passed the GED, and Academy of Hope celebrated its first graduate! “We got a bakery cake that said ‘congratulations!” Although that was misspelled!” recalls Marja with a chuckle. “It was nice weather in August, so we gathered on the rooftop of Christ House on Columbia Road. Everybody brought food. It was a full dinner. It was very festive! By then, we had 19 students, but it took us a while to have our first graduate.”

Marja and Linda continued to stay in touch after graduation. “She was immediately hired by the Hope in a Home program as a housing counselor to help other participants to place them in housing. Then she did some nursing assistant work for a while before working for a women’s clothing store. She started missing nursing, though, so she returned to that. She later got married and bought a house with her husband.”

Shortly after Linda graduated, Gayle stepped away from Academy of Hope. “She gave me several months of warning and told me that when Linda graduated, she was going to step away. She felt like that was enough encouragement for me. It was still a shock, but it worked out. We got a lot of interest right after our first graduation and immediately started an evening program.”

Marja continued to serve as a volunteer for four years before she started receiving a salary. She served on staff through a number of important transitions for AoH, including site and staffing changes, new executive directors, and the opening of an additional campus in Ward 8.  Finally, Marja decided to retire in 2010—twenty five years after those first classes in the church basement. Of course—in true Marja style—even in retirement, Marja remained a dedicated volunteer and tutor. She still visits AoH at least once a week.

Looking back on the last 35 years, Marja says “It seems like an enormous blessing. I feel so grateful. I feel like a gardener who tries her best to get plants started…I’ve had real gardens that have failed, but this garden has really thrived, and that seems like a huge blessing. I was just there at the very beginning to get it started, so I feel very grateful.” Reflecting on how far AoH has come over the years, Marja says, “We were just a scruffy little place with rats and roaches in the basement, and I didn’t have a vision beyond the basement…My goal was to make good things happen inside that basement. The basement inspired me because I wanted it to be blooming with something, and I didn’t want to get out of there. I just wanted to show that good things can happen any place.”

After more than three decades and innumerable changes, Marja says with a laugh “of course AoH isn’t the same. But that’s okay.” Moving forward, she hopes that AoH continues to embrace a philosophy she once heard at a training: if your student does not feel that you care about her, she will not be able to care about her learning. Marja says she hopes AoH will continue to explore “how can we really get deeper into our mission and who we want to be? I want us to always go deeper and not just wider.”

Antonio Ward

“AoH gives you the platform to get your life together. It’s a place to start.”

Antonio enrolled at Academy of Hope because he wanted to get his GED. “It was time for me to tighten up,” he says. By the time he crossed the graduation stage—one day shy of his 29th birthday—Antonio had not only earned his diploma but he had also landed a full time job at Hyatt Place Hotel through AoH’s Career Academy!

Like most learners at AoH, Antonio’s educational journey wasn’t a straight line. He left Ballou High School in 2008 while in the eleventh grade because of the environment there and the surrounding neighborhoods. “Someone was actually shot and killed inside the school,” he remembers. A few years later, he started attending Maya Angelou Public Charter School but the cost of transportation proved to be a barrier for him, and he didn’t like being around the younger student population. In 2015, Antonio found AoH while searching for a GED program in DC. He started classes that spring only to have to take a break a few months later due to personal issues. Two years later, AoH reached out to Antonio to encourage him to try again, and this time he was able to stay the course. He credits both the teachers and students for his success at AoH. “The students are more mature, so there aren’t too many distractions,” he says. “And the teachers make sure everyone is learning. Even though people are moving at different paces, they make sure everyone is learning.”

Shortly after Antonio re-enrolled, AoH launched new career academies focused on connecting learners to three high-demand industries: hospitality, healthcare and office administration. Antonio says the Hospitality Career Academy piqued his interested “because it would benefit me in the long run to get a trade certificate and eventually a job. Everyone was saying it was a good program, and one of the teachers, Rustin Moore, was a general manager at Hyatt, so if you did well, you might get a job with him.” Antonio quickly found that he enjoyed learning the ins and outs of hospitality. “We learned how it works and how to treat guests when they come to the hotel.” He notes that learning from Rustin was “helpful because it was hands on. Rustin is there every day dealing with guests and the staff, so he could share his first-hand experience.”

It wasn’t too long before Antonio earned some of that first-hand experience himself. As part of the Career Academy program, learners were able to participate in an externship at Hyatt Place. For a few weeks, they rotated through the various roles at the hotel: maintenance, front desk, food and beverage, and housekeeping. Antonio’s performance in class and throughout the externship caught the attention of Hyatt Place, and he was soon offered a full time job in the housekeeping department. So far, Antonio says, he’s loving it. “I think this is the perfect place for me. I like dealing with guests and the staff there. It’s like a big family because everyone works together, takes care of each other, and takes care of guests. I’m not normally an outgoing person, but interacting with guests makes me a more social person and I like it.”

When asked why adult education is important, Antonio answers it’s because adult education “gives people an opportunity to go back and finish school. Because it’s never too late. People sometimes make mistakes, and they have to come back and deal with the mistakes they made. This is the perfect program for them to come back and make it right. It’s the first step to getting back to where you’re supposed to be. AoH gives you the platform to get your life together. It’s a place to start.”

Indeed, Antonio is just getting started. With his diploma now in hand and full time employment under him, Antonio is ready to achieve his next set of goals like earning a promotion, moving into his own place and buying a car.

Miriam Bennett

“There’s nothing that can stop you, except you”

Miriam, 42, enrolled at Academy of Hope in 2018 because she was looking for a job and believed her diploma might open the right doors. Originally from Jamaica, Miriam came to Washington, DC the year before to be with her husband. Miriam says that the education she’s receiving at AoH is quite different than her experience in Jamaica. “At my level in school, you studied reading, math and a little bit of science,” she reflects. “Here, you are studying reading, math, science and social studies.” Later she adds, “There’s no level you need to get in. At AoH, you come in as you are, and they take you where you need to go.” Beyond the subject matter, AoH has provided space for Miriam to build her digital literacy and study skills. “Prior to coming to Academy of Hope, I never had access to a computer. But now I have the knowledge to do research, and I feel comfortable.”

Back home, Miriam had several careers in a salon, a restaurant, and as a merchant, but as she searched for a job in DC, she found that too many opportunities were closed to her because she did not have her diploma.  “I think of DC as a place with a lot of opportunities,” she says. “But you have to be focused on what you want in order to achieve it.”

For Miriam, her focus was a job in the hospitality field. “I have a passion for cooking,” she notes. In the spring of 2019, she enrolled in AoH’s new Hospitality Career Academy—a program that allowed her to continue studying for the GED exam in her regular classes and, at the same time, work toward a career in the high-demand hospitality sector. “My experience was wonderful. The studying was hard because there was a lot of homework, but it brought me to the level where I exceeded my own expectations. There were things that I didn’t think I could do, but I did it!”

Miriam credits her teacher, Rustin Moore, for her positive experience in the Career Academy. Rustin was the assistant general manager at Hyatt Place Hotel (he has since been promoted to another location), and according to Miriam, “he was the perfect person for the job. He didn’t just teach us what was in the book, but he helped us understand how to apply it in the field.” Miriam recalls Rustin motivating the class by saying, “What I’m teaching you now is not for me. I’m already in the field. I already worked my way up. If you don’t learn this, then you’ll be at the same place you were one week, one month, or one year ago. But if you want to move on to the work field, you have to do the work to get there.”

While Rustin certainly made an impression on Miriam, her skills and work ethic likewise made an impression on him and his colleagues at Hyatt Place. Immediately after an externship at Hyatt, Miriam was offered a full time job in the kitchen. She says it’s because she took initiative to do things before being asked. “If there’s something to be done, I don’t wait. I do it,” she says. When asked how it felt to fulfill her goal of full time employment, Miriam takes a deep breath before saying, “It was overwhelming. It was like having a terrible toothache and then someone introduces you to the right medication…I wish I had this job a year ago, but it was just the right time. A year ago, I would not have been prepared. Now I have a full time job with benefits, and my previous jobs didn’t give me all of those.”

The good news doesn’t stop there. Miriam was awarded employee of the month in her second month on the job and was promoted to rooftop chef. “When the original rooftop chef wasn’t there, they put me there. On my third shift up there, my boss asked if I thought I could manage the fast pace. I was there twice and showed them I could do it.”

Even while balancing her full time job, Miriam is still studying hard to pass her GED exam. “AoH is giving me the opportunity to further the education I need to be even more successful in life,” she says. “Mr. Graciano is always such a great help to me at my lunch break. He helps all of us with our research projects.” And she is setting new goals, including enrolling in a culinary arts course and eventually opening her own Jamaican restaurant here in the District. She’d also like to start a program where she can provide breakfast or lunch in schools. Her goals are ambitious, but her attitude is ready to meet the challenges ahead. “There’s nothing that can stop you, except you,” she declares.

Connie Williams

“Regardless of your profession, everyone needs to eat.”

Connie Williams enrolled at Academy of Hope in 1995 at the age of 20 because, as she says, she “wanted to do more.” Connie spent most of her early years looking after her younger siblings and taking care of the house. With so much responsibility, she was unable to focus on school, and in the 9^th grade, she made the difficult decision to stop out after the birth of her son, Dontae.

Connie remembers that she loved AoH’s family atmosphere and the fact that it was a small program. Unfortunately, after the birth of her second son, Deaundrey, Connie again made the decision to take a break from school so that she could get a job and pay her bills.

Shortly after Connie stopped attending classes, Marja Hilfiker, AoH founder and teacher, gave her a call. Marja believed in Connie’s potential and asked how she could help Connie stay in school. With emotional, academic and financial support from Marja, Connie returned to AoH and focused again on reading and writing. Although she attempted and failed the GED exam once a year, she kept up her studies and finally graduated in 1999.

With her diploma in hand, Connie immediately took the first steps toward her dream of becoming a chef by going to work at DC Central Kitchen—where she received valuable experience and a license in Food Handling—and enrolled in Stratford University for Culinary Arts. Although she managed to cover tuition costs through scholarships and loans, it was a constant financial burden to stay in school. With her determination and support from family, Connie obtained her Applied Associates degree cum laude just two years later in 2002.

Over the next several years, Connie undertook a range of different jobs, from decorating cakes at Safeway and Cake Love to working as a cafeteria supervisor at DCPS. Then, in 2004, she returned to DC Central Kitchen as Assistant Chef for two years. During this time, she gave birth to her daughter, Deairra.

In 2006, Connie entered UDC to study Food Science. Courses in trigonometry, physical chemistry and biochemistry posed the biggest challenges for her. She remembers, “I considered quitting and beat myself up for not being smart.” But she never quit.

With an enormous amount of hard work and perseverance, and after eight years of full-time and part-time study, Connie graduated with Bachelor of Science degrees in Nutrition and Food Science and in Nutrition and Dietetics in 2014. As she crossed those next graduation stages, Marja threw her a graduation party, which was attended by her university mentors, others from UDC and even the CEO of DC Central Kitchen.

Following graduation, Connie created “Safe Eaten,” a company that trains people to obtain the Food Manager License. Using a wide range of instructional materials (many of which she developed), she offered courses at Academy of Hope, other GED programs, the Department of Parks and Recreation, hotels, restaurants and 7-Eleven.

In 2016, Connie founded Plenty to Eat, a nonprofit food pantry whose mission is to empower individuals within the community by reducing hunger and inspiring healthy living through nutritious food. Connie says, “There were times in my life when I didn’t have food myself, and me and my children were hungry, so I do understand the need for food. Regardless of your profession, everyone needs to eat.”

Although it took her 14 months, on August 16, 2018 Plenty to Eat become a fully incorporated 501(c)3 organization. With donations from DC Central Kitchen and food purchased with her own funds, and a lot of help from her family, Plenty to Eat opened its doors at Academy of Hope’s Ward 5 campus in 2018. Students are invited to visit the pantry regularly and are able to walk away with food staples at no cost. More information about Plenty to Eat can be found on their new website!

Now, 25 years after Connie first started classes at AoH, she and Marja remain close in touch, and Marja’s generosity continues to inspire Connie and her work with Plenty to Eat.  Connie reflects, “I like helping people because it makes me feel good inside, and without helping someone, people don’t achieve their dreams. Just like Marja helped me.”

Tom Brown

“When students are ready to learn, we need to be ready to teach”

In 1988—just three years after Academy of Hope was founded by Marja Hilfiker and Gayle Boss—Tom Brown retired from his career at the Labor Department so that he could volunteer full time at AoH. Tom’s talents as a teacher, fundraiser, board chair and Labor-Day-Picnic-Grillmaster became invaluable to AoH over the years. “Tom was a person of great integrity,” says Marja. “He was really eager to do the right thing and do it very thoroughly and with great thought. That was the kind of help that was needed as we were starting a new organization.”

From the beginning, Tom’s philosophy about teaching boiled down to a simple phrase: when students are ready to learn, we need to be ready to teach. According to Annette Banks, AoH’s longtime NEDP Assessor, Tom quite literally met students where they were. “Tom would go wherever students wanted to meet—at their home, in the library, wherever they were most comfortable,” says Annette. “He met them where they were emotionally, academically and physically.” Annette adds that the chance to work with learners was the reward for Tom. “It was apparent that he really enjoyed it. He enjoyed interacting with the students. He would hug everyone. It was clear that he appreciated them as much as they appreciated him.”

Outside of the classroom, Tom was charged with helping AoH file the necessary paperwork to become incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. He organized Academy of Hope’s first fundraiser—a spaghetti dinner where the men cooked and served the food and cleaned up. “It was novel for that time,” Marja says with a chuckle. Tom took students to the beach every summer for the weekend, and he hosted some of the first graduations in the living room of his house. On top of all that, Marja remembers that Tom always cleaned the coffee cups. “Coffee has been a tradition at Academy of Hope from day 1,” Marja notes. “One of our very first students donated a coffee pot so that we always had coffee in the morning. At 1:00 pm, Tom washed the cups before he left.”

Tom remained deeply involved with Academy of Hope for the better part of three decades—even making an appearance as a guest speaker at AoH’s 2017 all-staff retreat. Unfortunately, Tom passed away in the summer of 2018, but his legacy remains. He’ll be remembered by his AoH family for his commitment, thoughtfulness, and infectious laugh. “He was just a very caring and very conscientious person with a great sense of humor,” remembers Marja. “He held things in his heart. It was that kind of faithfulness that was so foundational in Academy of Hope.”

Garry Small 

“It’s about the drive, not how fast you get there”

Garry, 58, enrolled at AoH with the goal of improving himself and getting a better job. This wasn’t his first time returning to school. After dropping out of high school at the age of 17, Garry tried a few other times to get the education he wanted and worked several jobs in the meantime. “I was very close to finishing high school the first time around, and I kick myself every day about it. I tried night school, but that wasn’t for me. After that, I did lots of odds and end jobs—I didn’t just sit around.”

In 2002, Garry enrolled at The Perry School alongside his wife—each looking to earn their high school diplomas. Unfortunately, Garry’s wife passed away after a sudden heart attack. “We were doing it together until I lost her. Now I’m trying to do this on my own,” he says with a sigh. When asked what keeps him going, Garry recalls a 75 year old student that attended The Perry School with him. “What inspires me is that if she can get up every morning and keep going, I can too!”

Garry heard about AoH from a friend and enrolled in January 2018 with a goal of bettering himself and securing a more stable career. He says that AoH is different than the other programs he tried because “the teachers are really excellent at helping and working one on one with students. They make sure you learn and get the concept of the subject.” Science and history are his favorite subjects, and with the help of AoH teachers, Garry has just one more test to pass before he graduates: math. He says he is learning some things that he didn’t have the chance to study the first time around—units like algebra. “When I took the official GED math exam earlier this year, I missed passing by one point.”

In his free time, Garry says he likes to drive and be outside, and he’s had several jobs driving commercial trucks. It’s something he’d like to return to after he earns his diploma—this time making it a career rather than a job. “I’ve driven everything but a bus, but maybe it’s time to try it” he jokes.  like to be outside and just riding. It’s about the drive, not how fast you get there.”

Garry’s philosophy of enjoying the ride shows up with him every day at school. He brings his positivity and focus to a small math study group that cheers each other on through the ups and downs of the GED exam.

Garry’s sights are set on earning the last point on his math exam and crossing the finish line. Last month, Garry scored highly on the practice math exam so he’ll sit for the official exam in the coming days. With his tenacity and help from AoH’s math team and dedicated volunteer tutors, we know his diploma is waiting just around the next curve!

VISIBILITY, MARKETING & RECOGNITION

• Recognition at AoH Events including: Graduation, AEFL
Week, Volunteer Appreciation Event, Career Fairs
• Company signage on AoH Recruitment Targeted mailers
and flyers including banner placement at both sites
• Press release to announce company partnership with
Academy of Hope
• Partnership announcement via various social media
outlets, working closely with your marketing team
to develop and engage your companies branding/
community support participation story
• Logo recognition on Academy of Hope website with a
direct link to your corporate website
• Acknowledgement in Academy of Hope Annual Report
(also posted on website)

VOLUNTEER & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES

• Class Assistant: Lead small groups and/or provide one
on one assistance as needed
• Leader’s of Hope Council: Opportunity to add (2)
persons to AOH’s junior board
• Career Services: Assist with job shadowing, internships,
applications and resume writing
• National External Diploma Program (NEDP) Buddy:
Assist learners as they work their way through the
NEDP Program
• Tutor: Be paired with individual learners seeking help in
a particular subject
• Academic Coach: Work in small groups with targeted
Academic level students who are close to passing the
GED by helping improve their scores

35TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION BENEFITS

• Two (2) tables of twenty (20) guests at the dinner-
premier seating
• Twenty (20) guests invited to the VIP Reception
• Recognition as a Learner Partner in all press materials,
including prominent company logo on mailed invitation
• Invitation for two (2) sponsor representatives and their
guest to be seated at a head table with other VIPs

• Opportunity for sponsor representative to have on-
stage role

• On-site recognition, including prominent placement of
name or company logo on event signage
• Prominently placed sponsor logo in printed program
• One full-page announcement in event program