"When I first came to Ozanam, it was in October of 2004. I started out very angry, defiant and was getting into a lot of trouble. I came to Ozanam because of anger, family problems and problems in school.

"During my early time at Ozanam, I shut down often, and soon months turned into years. Soon I realized that I was not getting anywhere, not making any progress, not even caring. That is when I came to the point in my life that I decided that I needed to care and get my life on track.

"Months later, instead of shutting down, I reached out. I reached out to people who tremendously helped me to change in my life, people such as Mr. Ewing, Ms. Ellis, Mr. Farrington, Ms. Collins, Mr. Wright, and my own parents.

"Many people will probably think I will miss numerous things about Ozanam, but in truth I will only miss one thing about Ozanam, that being the continuous learning I received here. This included learning to wake up and accept various forms of help I have received, learning the independent life skills I would soon need in the future, and finally learning how to just live life.

"In conclusion, I would like to say that I do have future plans for my life, which include transferring to a transitional living program after Ozanam. During that time, I plan to attend trade school for graphical engineering. Once again, thank you!"

- An excerpt from Sam's speech that he shared upon graduating from Ozanam School with his high school diploma.