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Success Stories
Foster care student finds home at Austin Can!
|  | Ashley Gallardo was put into foster care as a young girl. Over six years, she was placed in seven foster homes in three different cities and attended 15 different schools.
“I’m not saying those schools were bad or that I was getting into trouble,” Ashley said about her decision to attend Austin Can! Academy, “but I needed a school that was smaller, that didn’t have as much peer pressure.”
At TEXANS CAN!-Austin, Ashley quickly got involved in extracurricular activities such as basketball and track. In addition to working full-time, Ashley attended classes four hours a day.
She talks about the differences she experienced at Austin Can! “I became much more positive about myself. Teachers knew my name. They worked with me one-on-one. People said nice things to me; gave me encouragement. That just doesn’t happen in foster care.”
Her transformation was exhibited through her sky-high performance. Ashley earned straight A’s and earned Winner’s Circle awards numerous times.
“My friends and my real family encouraged me,” Ashley said. “They knew that I didn’t have to come here … I wasn’t in trouble with drugs or anything. But they are proud of me for doing so well and setting a good example for others.”
As a graduate in 2006, Ashley reflected on her experience. “Austin Can! is a really good school,” she said. “The staff is great. They taught me to stay with it and never give up. And most importantly, it made me a better person.”
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One More Success Story  Seventeen year old Crystal Mejia knew her life was heading in the wrong direction. After realizing the combination of hanging around the wrong crowd and surrounding herself with people who were really not supportive or encouraging friends, she knew
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