The Roller Coaster Ride: LEAD Class of 2024 graduate shares how the journey to postsecondary success is often full of twists and turns

Officially, the start of summer is the summer solstice. Unofficially, it’s Memorial Day or the last day of school. And for many New Jerseyians, including Anton Rush, summer begins on the first night of the annual State Fair. 

For three weeks out of the year, the New Jersey State Fair welcomes thousands of people, young and old, to celebrate warmer days ahead. But to Anton, who recently graduated LEAD Charter School, the State Fair is more than just a few weeks of fun—it's a family business. 

Anton works with his grandfather in maintenance for the agricultural fair and is responsible for building the bathroom trailers. He never expected to work alongside his grandfather or the possibility of working with him full-time. Still, that opportunity was offered to him largely due to his accomplishments at LEAD. 

Despite the many highs and lows of his academic journey, similar to rides at a State Fair, Anton now holds several construction certifications, including National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER), OSHA 10 and Weatherization. At first glance, you would not be able to see the weight of what he’s been through on his face – but Anton can still feel it. 

Anton’s relationship with education hasn’t always been a smooth ride. Although his first high school supported him with academics, the school did not have the resources to support him emotionally. However, he saw a glimpse into what a supportive school environment could look like when he temporarily moved to North Carolina with his father. For those nine months, Anton realized that he could actually enjoy school.

“I was okay in North Carolina because it was structured differently than it was up here,” he said. “They give you four classes and split them in half. So you get two semesters of four classes, and then they change your classes for the next two semesters. I was doing pretty good down there.” 

His mother eventually decided to come back to New Jersey, but unfortunately, Anton’s credits did not transfer with him. This meant he had to redo most of the classes he had already completed. Only weeks into his third high school, he was already giving up hope, and with seemingly no compromise from school staff, he reluctantly redid two years' worth of high school again. 

Now faced with repeating years of school he had already completed, Anton felt behind his peers and faced disappointment from his family, who thought he should be further along—all except for one family member who has always been in his corner—his grandfather. With encouragement from him, Anton stuck it out at his former school for two years until he found out about LEAD through a friend of his mother. 

Anton knew that in order to successfully finish the last few years of school, he needed an environment that understood the external challenges he faced and supported him through them. And while transferring to LEAD didn’t solve all of his problems, he now had an entire community to help him with the ups and downs.

“That was probably one of the toughest years of school that I had,” he said. “My grandmother got really sick - she had aneurysms, strokes, and COVID. She had to learn how to walk and eat and how to do everything all over again. My grandfather was really the only person to take control of the environment. And when it got bad for him, I had to step up.” 

In his first year at LEAD, Anton started working double shifts five days a week in order to support his household. Some days, he wouldn’t come home until 6 a.m., only to get ready and go to school at 8 a.m. During this tumultuous time, Anton realized that change was necessary to become the young man he needed to be.

“There is no single story of youth disconnection,” said Robert Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN), which operates LEAD. “Oftentimes, young people who disconnect from school have done so for nobler reasons than we may assume - including out of the need to provide for their families. Schools like LEAD provide flexible and supportive learning environments so that students like Anton can stay connected despite the myriad of challenges they may be facing outside of the classroom.”

Thankfully, Anton was able to ride out the challenges with the help of not just his teachers and other LEAD staff, but also with the help of his peers. Now, with industry-recognized credentials and a high school diploma in hand, Anton works full-time with his grandfather and hopes to follow in his footsteps by taking over the family business one day.

It's been said that life is like a rollercoaster - a reality that Anton knows all too well. Despite it all, he made it through the depths of his circumstances and came out on top. Although this doesn’t mean that he will not face similar challenges in the future, he knows that he’ll be able to ride it through till the end - and he won’t be doing it alone.