Testimonial: Avery Rodriguez

Avery is a FIFTEEN leadership program alum continuing his education at the University of South Florida

The FIFTEEN Program values itself on life skill development and personal responsibility for students. Avery Rodriguez is a student who went through the FIFTEEN program and currently is enrolled at the University of South Florida. This is what she had a to say about some of the life-skill and responsibility lessons she learned.

Since graduating from the FIFTEEN leadership program, I can look back and fully appreciate all the values and teachings I learned. Making it a priority to wake up early each and every other Saturday were just the fundamentals of the concept that "early is on time and on time is late". It took me the three years of the program to learn how to take these teachings and use them appropriately in my day to day life. I will never forget how much "15" meant to me.

I'm a rising Sophomore at the Unversity of South Florida.  Although I plan to eventually transfer to the University of Georgia, FIFTEEN has definitely had an influence and valued opinion when choosing a college to attend the would be a good fit for me.  My eyes were opened to information through more experienced perspectives.  FIFTEEN served as a vital supplement to high school for college prep.  We were having discussions and breaking down our wants and needs to better understand ourselves.  How else would we know what kind of college we wanted to go too?

Our memories are valued, our friendship blossomed, and our circle of trust has strengthened. We, as a class, have gone through obstacles together and shared sacred details with each other. I've grown close to people I don't think I would have ever known otherwise, mainly because we came from different high schools and walks of life. The best part is that I still stay in contact with most of my class.