A few weeks ago he finally landed a job at an Oil Refinery.
When you’ve been trying to get a job, any job, for years its pure joy when you are finally hired.
Spicy said over and over, “I finally feel like a man”.
He went through all his training and was taking extra classes to get different certifications so he could perform certain corrosion tests on the pipes. He had passed three levels of certification.
Two weeks ago he was called in by a supervisor to show evidence of his high school diploma or GED. Spicy is 24 now so it has been a while since he finished that. He made some calls but he was not able to get a copy so he asked me (Bob) to go with him to the district. When we arrived at the administration office we asked for a copy of his diploma and when they looked his records they said he had three incomplete classes, and had not graduated.
Spicy was in shock about it.
I asked many more questions but the bottom line is that he has to take the three classes over but the earliest he could start is July.
“You see what happened was…….” I can’t tell you how many stories start this way and are always complicated with an ending that could have been so different with a little help. Spicy had been going to an adult school to finish up his high school diploma. He had perfect attendance and was trying to get his work done early in the semester. Just going was a challenge for Spicy because he lives in a Crip neighborhood. The adult school is in a blood neighborhood and many of the gang members go to the adult school. They wouldn’t leave him alone and there were constant threats and he was told get out or watch his back. So Spicy finished the course work three weeks early and stopped going to class thinking he was done. During that time in his neighborhood some guys were doing house licks (home burglaries) and he was outside watching as the guys ran down the street with electronics in their hand. An eyewitness reported four African Americans doing the burglary. The sheriffs caught three of them and the fourth got away.
Because Spicy was outside, near the area the sheriffs picked him up too. No one believed him when he said he didn’t do it and he wouldn’t snitch on the person who was involved. Spicy ended up spending four months in jail for the crime. He did not go to graduation and didn't officially meet whatever requirement was needed. That was five years ago and all this time he thought since the course work was done they must have graduated him.
Nope, not the case as we found out.
To lie or not to lie? This is now what Spicy had to decide. Do we make a diploma for him and try to pass it as legitimate or does he come clean and tell his boss what happened. The requirement for the job is a diploma so he was up against the wall on this. Other employees, he found out, faked their diplomas and have not been found out. For a lot of us this is an easy, right or wrong issue, but imagine yourself in his situation. There is an 80% unemployment rate in our community for his demographic (20-something African American male, with a criminal record, under-educated, intimidating demeanor.) He has been looking for full time work for years. He has done construction with me part time but its not really in his skill set. He finally landed a job with a great company, full time, with benefits, and he is good at it. It’s the type of company you can retire from.
We talked for a long time and prayed about it and even printed off a fake diploma. I told him he is a grown man, and needs to make his own life decision. “How do you want to live?” I asked him. He answered, “I want to do what honors God.”
Spicy came clean with his supervisor and we hoped and prayed for grace on behalf of the company. He showed them he is reenrolled and planning on taking the GED test in 3 weeks. The bottom line is that he was laid off.
He can’t work there until he has the diploma or equivalent. The more time that passes the less likely it will be that he can come back.
We were guest speakers at church last Sunday and I told Spicy I have never been more proud of him. It took a lot of faith to do what he did. I have been his mentor for years but that day he was mine.
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