There was a time when the future did not look all that promising for Lily Nguyen.
When she was 18, Nguyen was expelled from Oakland High School on MacArthur Boulevard, after she ditched classes, dropped assignments and compiled a history of disruptive behavior.
Home life was not much better. She frequently fought with her Vietnamese immigrant parents. She admits she was “hanging out with the wrong crowd.”
Nguyen left home and bounced from place to place, staying where she could.
“I couldn’t stay focused,” she said.
Then a friend mentioned Civicorps, which provides young people a chance to earn a high school diploma, develop job skills while getting paid, or even do both at the same time.