My Nonprofit Reviews

My favorite story about a Stride graduate is about "Brian." Only 20 when he found Stride, Brian had really struggled in his short life. Always different, Brian was bullied and harassed in school to the extent that he attended a continuation High School, which he ultimately dropped out of. Instead, Brian earned his GED right after dropping out, and then he languished. In fact, he rarely left home. After years of this and at her wits end, his mother suggested Brian look into The Stride Center. He was very good with computers -- one of the few things that really excited him. With no shortage of anxiety, Brian took the leap and enrolled at Stride. He proved to be an excellent student and was quickly noticed by his instructors and the Stride team. Before graduating from his first class, Brian was offered a job at Stride's social enterprise call center, where he became the most productive and highest achieving agent on the team. Not surprisingly, Brian very quickly was offered a position at UCSF as a desktop technician... where he thrived. After one year there, three different UCSF departments offered Brian a full-time permanent job because he had earned the reputation of being smart, effective and very good with clients. Today, Brian is earning nearly $70K/year, is only considered "different" in positive ways and he's gone from home-bound to saving to become a home-owner. Great job Brian! Great job Stride!