With help, it’s never too late to change a life

Anya Ivanova
In Motion Staff Writer

Fresh Start for Men has had a bumpy start but now, with its new teacher and new schedule, it is up and running.

The program is mirroring Fresh Start for Women in a way that it is also a four week program with 15 hours of classes each week. The classes help students develop confidence, learn information needed to find a job or to get into college and be successful. The students learn how to stand their own grounds. The program is completely free.

Nancy DeStefano, Fresh Start program manager, says, “The most important accomplishment for us is that students gain the confidence they need to either find a job or to go back to school.”

She explains that the program doesn’t find a job for students but they make it as easy as possible for them to do it themselves. Students go to career services and they talk to professionals, who determine what kind of job they will be good at.

“We sit down with students and talk about where they fit in the career force, where they will be successful at, and even if maybe they will have to relocate somewhere to find a job in the field,” DeStefano says.

Students also take the Myers-Briggs assessment test, which is based on how people see the world and how they make decisions. The test determines where students’ strengths and passions are.

Veronica A. Oxford, Associate Director for the Center for Women and Man, says, “Some students have never thought about their career choices. The test lets them think that they can be good at something. This way it helps set their minds and get them excited about school.”
As well as Fresh Start course for women, Fresh Start for Men has an obligatory meeting with a transition specialist who helps students set goals for the future and create step by step plan of how to achieve them. Transition specialist works with students for up to six months after graduation to help them get to those goals.

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‘The most important accomplishment for us is that students gain the confidence they need to either find a job or to go back to school.’
— Nancy DeStefano
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This semester the program went from two hours a day to three and got a new teacher. DeStefano, says, “The program has been around since about 2008, but because of stuffing issues it had stopped and started. Now we have a new person, Christopher Lemon, who is both a recruiter and a teacher. He’s dedicated and you can tell he is going to have a good relationship with his students. They already like him.”

Fresh Start is a program for men from 16 years old and up who are not enrolled in high school. Potential students must have a high school diploma or GED or be willing to pursue a GED at Daytona State College. You don’t have to enroll to Daytona State College after you finish the course, but it is highly encouraged and you will be helped on every step of the way.

“Admissions come in and talk about admissions process. We take them to get their ID cards to feel like a student right away. We take them on campus tours. We have people from disability and career services departments come in and talk,” Oxford says.

The Center for Men and Women also helps their students to create the resumes, write cover letters and essays for receiving scholarships. In the past six months half of the students who took Fresh Start course enrolled into college.

Even after graduation, Fresh Start is there to help you with everything you need, be it just moral support or a referral to a help center.

“Fresh Start is kind of like a sorority. You will always be a part of us. Just because you graduate from fresh start and move on it doesn’t mean that you are finished with it. We still want to hear how you are doing and what we can do to help you,” DeStefano says.

The class is offered at Daytona Beach campus and Deltona campus. The classes meet from 1pm to 4pm. To enroll, schedule an appointment at the Center for Women and Men and bring photo ID, social security card and a proof of high school diploma, GED, or written referral from the School of Adult Education.

The dates for upcoming classes are March 31 – April 25 and June 2 – June 27 at the Daytona Beach campus and April 28 – May 23 at the Deland campus.

For more information, call 386-506-3068.