Trevor
Attending Milwaukee School of Engineering
“Without Mr. Gordy’s help, I would have had a lot more stress and anxiety. Students wouldn’t know what to do. They wouldn’t have the push or the drive provided by Mr. Gordy to get through the process. Mr. Gordy is a great man.”
Once I got to Logan High School my junior year, I opened up and saw brightness in my future and I really wanted to go to college. I want to be an officer in the military, and I am more driven now to achieve that by going to college, rather than just enlisting.
Mr. Gordy at the Future Center didn’t know as much about ROTC but he did a lot of research to really help me out. He went above and beyond. He was able to find a friend who was in ROTC and got great info from that person. Without Mr. Gordy, I probably wouldn’t have made this decision. I’d still be wishy washy about all the ideas.
I will go to Milwaukee School of Engineering. I want to go into aeronautical engineering and civil engineering. I have always wanted to go into military and I want to be better prepared in life. I am influenced by my dad who enlisted in military but still had to sign up for food stamps to support the family. I was in the Air Force ROTC in high When I was 12, we moved to Virginia. The schools were tough. I saw lots of drugs, violence and weapons in schools. I wasn’t as successful there. There were no AP classes in 9th and 10th grade. I felt that that the teachers didn’t care as much and struggled with half a class who didn’t care about what happened after high school. So, between that and problems at home, I didn’t do very well. I struggled with school back in Virginia. I saw how respected members of the military are and they are there to help people. As far as engineering, I always enjoyed building things and I’m fortunate that lines up well with being a pilot in the Air Force. The Air Force recommends you have some engineering background.
Mr. Gordy gave me some ideas of what I needed to think about during our one-on-one visits.
We were working together, trying to get the right fit for me. I first came in to chat about going to University of Wisconsin-Madison. He really helped me revise and edit essays and showed me where to go to find scholarships and how to create the best applications for college. I applied to five schools; Madison, Michigan Tech, Western Tech, William and Mary and MSOE. I decided on MSOE because of the ROTC program and their engineering program, along with still being able to stay in Wisconsin. I received scholarships from Logan, MSOE is giving me $15,000 a year as a grant and $5000 a year in financial aid.
It’s been challenging applying for colleges and trying to make all these big decisions. If all goes right, that’s where I’ll spend the next four years of my life. I am looking forward to getting away from home and learning to be independent.
If it wasn’t for the Future Center, I would not have been as proactive. I would have waited until the last minute and applied to places that probably wouldn’t have been the right fit and then had to learn about it the hard way. Without Mr. Gordy’s help, I would have had a lot more stress and anxiety. Students wouldn’t know what to do. They wouldn’t have the push or the drive provided by Mr. Gordy to get through the process. Mr. Gordy is a great man.
I would say that the Future Center puts more kids on a path to college. It’s more welcoming in the resource room. And with Mr. Gordy here, it gets you thinking about what to do for your future. The college aspect can be intimidating. I was scared about college and preparing for that and that can sometimes make you put it off.
Logan has been amazing. From school lunch to classroom environment to quality of teachers and quality of the building. One of the schools I went to in Suffolk, VA even lost accreditation and its funding. I feel that I am more resilient now. When I came to La Crosse, it was just a much friendlier atmosphere than I had experienced before. I felt like everyone was here to help me, including Mr. Gordy in the Future Center.