Escondido Teen Focused on Success

My name is Hunter and I'm a senior at Escondido Charter High School.  A Bridge For Kids has been incredibly influential throughout my later high school years. I have always known that I want to study humanities or business in college, and reaching this goal has always been my top priority. I have also always been involved in sports at my school, and they have been a huge part of my development as an individual. A Bridge for Kids has supported me in both of my main efforts, and has made things that I never thought I could do possible.Even before high school started, my family was having a rather difficult time taking care of all of the financial needs of my brother and me. As the years went on, more difficult times came and it was even more challenging for my parents to meet the needs of two sons. Near the end of my freshman year, my mother passed away, making life for our family harder than we thought it would ever be. Financial burdens grew, and it became much more difficult to stay on track with what I needed to be focusing on.Fortunately, at the end of my sophomore year, volunteers from the organization headed to my high school in search of kids who they felt deserved a better hand than they were dealt. Soon after my interview, I was awarded a sponsorship from a generous couple from Connecticut whose donation was facilitated through A Bridge for Kids. This proved to be a major turning point in my life. I was able to pursue sports with more passion than before, being that I was able to afford the necessary expenses that come with running cross-country and track. Through my sponsorship I was able to purchase new running shoes, athletic apparel and even a GPS watch to monitor my progress and track my times.  As a result, I was more successful in my junior year of sports than any other. Outside of sports, I am 100% sure that my success in school in junior year is due to the help I received from ABFK. With my sponsorship, I was able to purchase a laptop for use whenever and wherever I needed schoolwork done, a router so I could connect to the internet at home and an HP calculator that I needed for my advanced math classes. I honestly do not know how I would have gotten through the past year without these very necessary school supplies.However, possibly the most beneficial thing that A Bridge for Kids has done for me is offer a free college trip to the east coast. This was literally a dream come true. I had always known the east was where I wanted to go to college, so taking a trip there, at no cost, with a few amazing other students, was simply unforgettable. My decisions in the coming months will be largely affected by this amazing trip made possible by ABFK.