ORANGE PARK – It was as if Joyan Mack hit the pause button when he started telling his story of his challenges at Orange Park High.
“Mom, if you’re hearing [or reading] this, I love you,” he said.
Hit the play button again.
Mack clearly had some challenges, but he remained undaunted in his quest to finish, no, make that excel, during his senior year.
His mother, teachers, counselors, administrators and community refused to let him fail. They provided him with the tools and the blueprint, and he did the hard work to build a strong educational foundation to be approved for federal financial aid and admission to Florida State College at Jacksonville next year.
Months ago, none of that seemed possible. But the vivacious senior wasn’t allowed to fail.
“To start off, we got an eviction notice. We were kind of homeless,” he said. “That’s a new kind of pressure. What’s going to happen now? But my mom told me not to worry. She’s got us. She told me to focus on school. She said to make that my main motivation and no dilly-dallying. She wanted me to do my work and graduate and she would handle the rest.”
“I think my main goal was just to make her proud, and I feel like I’ve pretty much done a great job with that,” he said. “When she said that, I was like, ‘Yes, ma’am,’ because I know, I understood that. I trusted her 100%, and I still do.”
Joyan, his mom and his twin sisters were taken in by friends. That solved one problem, and it left him with another: keeping up with his schoolwork.
It seemed like he was a half-step behind some of his classmates. He didn’t lack ability. He just needed a little extra time to understand and complete his work.
He often sought after school tutoring, so his teachers sometimes were more lenient with their due dates. If a report was due on Tuesday, they might have let him turn it in on Wednesday morning because he had asked the extra question or was getting help after school.
“The teachers were very friendly, of course,” Joyan said. “Sometimes when I missed the due date, they helped me out. They also give me a little extension, like a smidge.
“They really wanted to help me graduate. They want really everyone to graduate.”
If he was trying, they would be willing to work with him.
One Social Studies teacher, Glenn Turner, saw something deeper in Joyan’s determination. The student was driven by more than just completing high school. He had a greater purpose to be much more than a high school graduate.
“My teacher, Mr. Turner, he had some contacts with FSCJ,” Joyan said. “He met some good people to talk with so they can help me map out a future.”
Joyan isn’t sure which career direction he wants to pursue. He can take core classes his first year at FSCJ while he makes up his mind. For once, he had options based on his terms – all because his families at home and at school refused to let him fail.
“Everyone at Orange Park, they get behind you,” Joyan said. “They won’t let you fall through the cracks. They will not. Principal [Ivin] Gunder, you know, he always makes our day better. He gives us fist bumps. He’s just there for us if we ever need him. That goes for almost all of our teachers.”
And a loving mother.