My “life was a mess” said Niko R. speaking with Project Rise’s Associate Director Dina LiMandri. He was living in a shelter with his mom, had dropped out of high school, was not interacting with friends and was unemployed
When he realized he needed to get back on his feet, he enrolled in a Harlem-based GED program. “It wasn’t for me. It was one guy in a room in the back of the building…He gave me a packet, but wasn’t really teaching. I needed something more.” His mom found Project Rise on the internet. “The day I was supposed to come for the Information Session I got lost…I was almost not allowed to apply.” Norma D’Arancio, then the college assistant for the program, spoke with Niko’s mother about his high school experiences–he was bullied in school, survived a stabbing, and because of these experiences, was shy and mistrusting of people. Program administrators decided he needed a second chance.