GOAL students graduate after hard times

Michael Aragon was going to high school in Denver when tragedy struck and his life changed.

“With my mom passing away during my freshman year, it was really rough on me. I kind of like dropped out of school and like just didn’t care about anything,” Aragon said.

With help from his family, he decided to turn his life around and enroll in GOAL Academy

“One day I looked at my son and I said this ain’t the life that I want for him,” Aragon said.

More than 1,800 GOAL Academy students are graduating this weekend with 1,200 of them in Pueblo.

“The student who would otherwise have been pushed out or dropped out of the local high schools, they need a pathway,” said Dr. Kris Enright, the school’s interim executive director.

Enright says GOAL is exactly why some teachers get into education.

“I think for any educator, this is why we go into education, to make a difference in the lives who need us the most,” Enright said.

But for Aragon, it’s given him an opportunity to provide from his family and 3-year-old son.

“It’s just, it’s like a dream come true, you know, after all the stuff I’ve been though. I mean, I worked hard, full time, came right after work, did school,” Aragon said.

It’s also a jumping off point for his future.

“I’m planning on next year going to college, to Front Range up in Denver. I want to get my criminal justice degree,” Aragon said.