Giving Back

Clark

Clark had been in foster care for two years and at Vera Lloyd for about 18 months. He came to Vera Lloyd after his parents had been divorced for five years and his father was arrested on drug charges.

He graduated from Monticello High School in 2014. He finished his second semester at the University of Arkansas at Monticello with a 2.7 grade point average—the best GPA he’s had made in a long time.

He wants to earn a bachelor’s degree in social work and give back to the kind of organizations that have helped him. He said, “Counseling—like what I’ve experienced at Vera Lloyd—has been helpful to me and taught me good life principles.” He is paying tuition, fees and room and board through foster care payments, a state education training voucher and a scholarship from Holmes Chapel in Monticello.

“It’s been a blessing that I’ve had this kind of help. There’s no way I could have paid for college myself. Without Vera Lloyd, I would never have finished high school,” Clark said. He credits Vera Lloyd for helping him open a savings account, understand budgeting, learning to cook and teaching him independence.

His dad is doing better, too. He’s out of prison, is living with his parents and is attending community college to earn a drafting degree.