Hope Restored: How Fernando Found His Path Through LearningQuest

The holidays remind us that change is possible, that even in the hardest seasons, there is always hope. At LearningQuest we see that hope every day in our students. This season, I’d like you to meet Fernando.  

“If you had seen me a couple years ago,” Fernando says, “I was homeless, addicted, and 

completely lost. I was that guy talking to himself on the street.” 

For years, Fernando’s life was filled with hardship, heartbreak, and addiction. After leaving school in the 11th grade, his struggles with alcohol grew heavier. When his brother introduced him to meth, his life began to unravel. “My mom would sometimes find me unresponsive,” he remembers. “Eventually, she had no choice but to ask me to leave home. I felt broken, lost and completely alone.” 

Fernando drifted from place-to-place sleeping wherever he could. His days blurred together in the cycle of addiction and survival. “I was hungry tired and lost,” he says. “But even in that darkness a small moment of grace appeared.”  That moment came when Fernando found the Gospel Mission, a warm meal, a safe place to rest, and people who saw him with compassion instead of judgement.  It was there that a chaplain and a former LearningQuest student recognized something in Fernando that he couldn’t see in himself. They encouraged him to visit LearningQuest, and that simple act changed everything. 

“From the moment I walked through those doors, I felt something different,” Fernando says.“People cared about me, teachers, tutors, volunteers they believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.” 

Math quickly became his biggest obstacle. “Geometry might as well have been another language,” he laughs. But with persistence, extra tutoring, and encouragement from his LearningQuest mentors, Fernando began to understand and even enjoy what once felt impossible. He also joined LearningQuest’s transitional services, participating in mock interviews that helped him build confidence and prepare for real-world opportunities. “At first, I hated the interviews,” Fernando admits. “But they taught me how to speak in front of people and believe in myself. It’s something I’ll carry for the rest of my life.” With the steady support of LearningQuest and his Gospel Mission community, Fernando stayed focused on his goals. After just three months of hard work beginning with his first reading test in August, he proudly earned his high school diploma. 

Today, Fernando works at the Gospel Mission, helping others who face the same struggles he once did. He’s exploring college opportunities in science or social studies and is determined to keep growing and giving back. 

“If I can do it, anyone can,” he says. “I was homeless and addicted, but LearningQuest helped  

me find hope again. Now I have my diploma, my confidence, and a future.” 

At LearningQuest, every student who walks through our doors becomes part of a family, one that walks beside them from day one. Our classes, tutoring, and support services are completely free, made possible by the generosity of donors like you. From teachers and tutors to volunteers and community partners, every person plays a part in opening doors that were once closed. This holiday season, you can help more students like Fernando rewrite their stories through the gift of literacy. Your donation to our Literacy for the Holidays campaign changes lives one student, one story, one future at a time. Give the gift of literacy, hope starts here with you.