Alternative school principal gets a chance to give back

It started at the end of his seventh-grade year. At home, Joel locked himself in his room, listened to the radio and read sports biographies. He dreamed of becoming a professional football player and leaving this life behind. At McCombs Middle School, his grades, once all A's, plummeted. In eighth grade, he was twice suspended for fighting. Even in the gifted program, even with top test scores, Joel failed French, English, algebra, science and typing.

Then, in 10th grade, a Lincoln High School guidance counselor told Joel about Upward Bound. The program, which focuses on low-income students whose parents didn't attend college, sounded like a nice escape: six weeks on a college campus, away from home.

And, just like that, things changed. Joel met other teens with difficult childhoods, teens from single-parent homes and whose families struggled financially. He met teens in tougher situations, teens with alcoholic parents