Damonte, right, has heard these two questions a hundred times – maybe more – from his MHC mentor, Marcus Fair. He knows exactly how the next phone call or visit will start.

After years of work, and a few false starts, he has the answers.

Finding his purpose –

Damonte has been with us since he lost his parents as a young teenager. He grew up in foster care – and our staff who’ve known him the longest celebrated the hardest last week as he shared a few memories at our Higher Education Lunch:

“They watched me when I said I was not going to participate in community college. I wanted to be a professional wrestler,” he said.

“And they watched me as I graduated with my bachelor’s degree at NC State.”

We are watching still – and walking alongside – as Damonte pursues a Master of Social Work at UNC-Wilmington. He just started his final year of classes.

Our higher education programs support students with expenses and mentoring while they work toward skilled trade certifications and advanced degrees.

We caught up with some of them recently » see what they’re doing »