Building Futures Through High School Graduation

Gina Vongkaeo's future wasn't looking very bright. She dropped out of high school, got in trouble and was serving time for burglary. Despite her mistakes, she didn't give up on herself. She found the support she needed to turn her life around.

This story is part of a multimedia documentary, Class Dismissed, that was conceived of by Capital Public Radio producer Catherine Stifter and undertaken during her 2013 California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship. Class Dismissed takes an up-close look at the school drop-out crisis through the lives of four young people from the Central Valley. The stories reveal what’s at stake for their future and ours.

This story was reported by Andrew Nixon. Others stories in the project include:

No Regrets, Just Keep It Moving

School or Survival? 

Family First

Gina Vongkaeo's future wasn't looking very bright. She dropped out of high school, got in trouble and was serving time for burglary. Despite her mistakes, she didn't give up on herself. She found the support she needed to turn her life around.

This story originally ran on Capital Public Radio.

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