Testimonials

I was 15 years old, a confused and lost teenager who watched his father pass away in front of me and my family on a Sunday morning. I was struggling with life and became uncontrollable. I was getting kicked out of school, was always on probation, getting into physical altercations, ignoring curfew, and was addicted to the negative attention I was receiving from my peers. I became an outcast in my school and community. I was angry. I was hateful. I was emotionless. I had no direction. Fear set in when my Juvenile Court Officer came to my school and told me to pack my bags and to take the rest of the day spending time with my family, as I was leaving at 6 am to be enrolled at the Clarinda Academy. Like every rebellious teenage, the first thing that came to my mind was “forget that”, I’m not going, I’ll run away and find places to stay to avoid placement, my bulletproof and naïve mindset was far too obvious.

I arrived at the academy and had no idea what to expect. My guard up and I was taking everything in. I sat back quiet and reserved for the first two weeks, watching how the staff interacted and how the students co-existed. I soon began to build positive relationships with the staff members, trust began to build, and I understood that they were there for me, not to control me, not to berate me, but to challenge and shape me. I had strong role models reinforcing positive behaviors, morals, and values. I soon realized that this was the guidance and direction I had been missing for the past 3 years since my father had passed. As days, weeks, and months passed, my self-esteem and confidence grew. I was no longer being recognized for negative behaviors, but for the positive behaviors I displayed. The staff there invested in me, believed in me, and pushed me to be the best person I could be. I completed the program with the highest honor “Eagle President”. Six months prior I was ready to abscond from probation and now I was struggling with goodbyes. Believe it or not, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to continue what I started, yet wanted to prove everyone that doubted me back home that I was a different person. I was no longer afraid of my future. I was ready for anything that was put in my way that would deter me from fulfilling my goals.

Once I returned home, people in my community and school district were obviously skeptical. I fed off their un-comfortability towards me. I returned to my high school, excelled in sports, academics, and socially. Once I graduated from high school, I returned to the Clarinda Academy for two summers to work as a resident counselor, as a way to give back for all they had done for me. College wasn’t a thought that had occurred to me less than a year ago. I enrolled at NIACC and was on the Dean’s list, transferred to UNI and majored in Social Work. My probation officer was such an influence on me that he inspired me to follow in his footsteps. I volunteered in the Juvenile Court program, was employed at a youth shelter and detention center in college, became a tracker for JCS, and then was hired as a school liaison officer at the Waverly-Shell Rock School District. I then fulfilled my dream of becoming a Juvenile Court Officer and have since then been employed at various inpatient substance abuse facilities as a substance abuse counselor. One thing I realized from the staff at the academy, was the undeniable feeling of positivity from giving of yourself to others. I’ve carried that trait for the past 27 years and display those values each and every day to my 3 young children.

Twenty seven years later, I still keep in touch with the academy staff. Some of them have retired, some have moved on, and some are still helping others each and every day within the academy walls. Who knows where I’d be right now if I hadn’t had that opportunity, definitely not where I am now. My time at the academy is one of the best periods of time in my life. Clarinda Academy shaped me into who I am today. There will always be a special place in my heart for those who went the extra mile and helped me believe in myself.

When I came to Clarinda Academy I struggled with my anger a lot, every little thing would make me so mad I would hit things or fight people. My anger could get so bad at times that I would black out and not even realize what I had done. Clarinda Academy’s program changed me, it brought out my true self. This place made me see what I was truly capable of, and deal with feelings that I had never dealt with before. Soon enough the staff at Clarinda Academy saw things in me that nobody at home ever did. I achieved things that I never would have thought possible, I won medals in track and field, became a Campus Exec for my dorm and mentored students through their programs. I’m doing really good now.

I am writing this letter to tell you guys that you are amazing! I want to thank you the staff at Clarinda Academy for everything that you have taught me and that my experience at CA has made a big physical and mental change in my life. I thank you for all your support that came from your staff team. When I first came to CA I never thought that I would leave with the kind of bond that I did you the staff. Clarinda taught me how to cope, create new relationships, love myself, how to carry myself, that not everything is about arguing and fighting with others; it’s about respect, being the bigger person, recognizing your wrongs and working hard to fix them. You taught me that no matter what you do or where you go, there will always be a negative person right there ready to bring you down but if you are strong enough you can get through it, and with the right amount of confidence you can do anything. My time in placement has been amazing and I know I’m leaving but I hope you guys do not forget about me. I want you all to know that you shaped me to be who I am and if it wasn’t for CA I wouln’t be who I want to be.

I visited your academy with a friend who is a counselor from Sacramento County, CA. While he was with his clients, I received a tour from three young men who are enrolled there. I met so many students and faculty while there that I cannot remember the names of the students. One young man was from Cedar Rapids, IA; another was from Flint, MI and the third was, I think, from Waterloo, IA.The reason that I am writing to you is to tell you how impressed I was with the whole experience. The manners and the attitudes of the students that I encountered there were outstanding. When the tour was finished, I told the three that if they were my children, that I would be very proud of them and that if they continued as they were, that they would be very successful in life.

You have a friend in Southern Missouri.

There is so much to say about clarinda academy you cant sum it up in just a paragraph, but I’m here to tell you about my time here. I came to clarinda all the way from Stockton California. I was scared I had never flow let alone been outside of California. I was the type of teen who had a problem with authority figures, you name it I had done it. I felt out of place when I arrived,I had this notion that I didn’t belong among the crowd of Girls that I had just met. I thought because I had never been to a detention center I didnt belong. That quickly changed because of my attitude. I came across many staff who told me that if I never changed my attitude that life was going to be hard for me. I then began to realize that the only way I was going to succeed was to work my program. I had to become the new and improved Breanne. I had many trials and errors bumps along the road that were not easy to get over, heels so high I didn’t think I could ever see over them. I met a therapist who changed my perspective . I then became the hard working girl in my dorm. I went from challenging staff daily to become the dorm exec. I changed , I became happy. I listened to those around me. I threw myself into activities that I never thought I would join( flags, volleyball, CNA) i was taught things that I could never imagine seeing myself do. Summer Olympic was the best time I had ever had in my life at a place I so dreaded when I first arrived in 2009. Angelou Hall had taken the summer Olympics by storm, we had pushed ourselves so hard that we beat all other dorms and became the summer Olympics champions the first time in many years. It was the best feeling to know that my peers and i worked so hard together that our goal was achieved.it was A feeling I wanted to keep. I felt that we as a dorm had worked so hard to accomplish a powerful goal why cant we work together to become better women? That’s when I decided to take the big sister title serious. I knew there were girls like me who had trouble adjusting. I told them my hard story of rebellion and told them to use it to empower them to make it through. I can say to this day some of those girls and i still keep in contact. Clarinda wasn’t just a phase in my life it was a steeping stone, one i had to conquer. I was challenged and I accepted that challenge and became the woman I am today. Clarinda taught me things as a person as a individual as woman as a leader. I’m thankful for my time i had spent as I left in 2010. I took away many things that i use to, this i credit my time there for contributing to the woman and mother i am today. I can say with a proud stance and smile on my face, that i made it through my toughest time in my life from losing my mother while at clarinda to becoming a mother of 2 handsome boys and a registered nurse. all thanks to the dedication of an amazing team, who was nonstop and not willing to give up.i was never given the opportunity to thank the staff . Here i am today saying THANK YOU for all that you have done for me. Your help has impacted me for life.

While other kids may not be, I am grateful for Clarinda Academy. My advice to other kids who find themselves in the same position I was in, being placed in Clarinda, is to take advantage of all that CA has to offer in order to be successful. Clarinda Academy really does care, and they want us to be successful in our future.

This is my CA story; Clarinda Academy gave me an opportunity to engage in a program and I took that opportunity and ran with it. I participated in the CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) program and also earned my Hi-SET diploma, which means when I leave Clarinda Academy, I can go right to work rather than having to return to school. Both of these things, were free to me as well. CA helped me deal with my anxiety, depression, and trauma, and they were also supportive of my sexuality. CA helped me improve my relationship with family and provided me with the opportunity to have home passes in order to prepare for my transition back to the community. I also got to practice having positive interactions in the community by getting to leave campus for activities.

If you take in the help that they give you, you will be successful in life, for real. This program isn’t here to hurt you, staff want to work here to make a difference and help kids make changes in their lives.