Kristina Heard

 

Kristina Heard went to Life Sciences Secondary School on East 96th Street which teaches 6th grade through 12th grade. She said she was always partying with her friends; her school didn’t seem to care about her so she lost interest in her school. She made it to the 12th grade but wanted to transfer to another high school. Her guidance counselor suggested she consider a GED program.

“It seemed like they just wanted to push us out,” Kristina said.

She went to a vocational training center, took her GED, but failed the math portion. She said she couldn’t understand why she failed because in high school she passed her math regents exams. She heard about The Way To Work (formerly known as VFI) through her boyfriend, though he left she continued. She said she was tired of being “behind.”

“I left my job at the Children’s Place just to come here,” she said. “I felt dumb because I didn’t finish school.”

She wanted to work as a Security Guard and was excited to find out that The Way To Work offered the license exam for free. She didn’t know she was pregnant at the time but she knew she would never abort a child.

During the The Way To Work Career and College Fair, Kristina interviewed with Allied Barton and Metro One Loss. They were interested in her, but she didn’t have a diploma yet.

After working hard, with support from her Career Manager and Math Instructor, she improved her math skills at The Way To Work and passed her GED exam. She said her previous program only offered math once a week and weren’t supportive. At The Way To Work, instructors devoted an hour each day to practice math.

“I don’t need someone to baby-sit me, but I need at least one person to care,” she said.

She graduated from The Way To Work’s Security Guard program in Fall 2007 and is working at Metro One Loss Security earning $8 an hour. She lives with her parents in Rosedale, Queens. She had a baby girl in the Summer of 2008.

Kristina, who was adopted at four weeks old, wants to study sociology and become a social worker.

“I was lucky, but some kids don’t get a home until they’re 10,” she said. “And I want to help them. I want to go to their homes and make sure they’re being treated right.”