Determination to overcome life’s obstacles is echoed by 20-year-old West Side native, Destiny Wright. When Destiny came to Ombudsman in September 2014, she had only 4.5 of the 24 credits needed to earn a CPS high school diploma. Losing her father and two other family members within a very short time frame was more than she could endure, and she dropped out of school during her freshman year. Before Ombudsman, she felt like her life was passing her by.
“I was feeling so agitated, I had so much energy and I did not know what to do with myself,” said Wright. “I heard about Ombudsman from someone at church, and I told myself that I was not going to dwell on the past, and that I was going to graduate in 2015 – once I set those goals, I felt like I had a purpose again.”
To reach her goals, Destiny worked around the clock, attending double sessions every day at Ombudsman and continuing to work from home, well into the evening.
“I knew that going back to school was going to be really hard work,” said Wright. “But I could not let the obstacles I had faced in my life hold me back any longer; I realized that I could choose to use the hard times to push me deeper into failure or to motivate me to want more for my life.”
Following graduation, Destiny will take some time to focus on working, saving for college and applying for scholarships. With a love of writing and of music, Destiny hopes to one day earn a bachelor’s degree in music production and a master’s degree in business management.