Tyree Gibson entered Harford County Public Schools' Future Link program three years ago, after completing his time at Joppatowne High School, struggling with math and reading skills.
As of Thursday, however, the 21-year-old Edgewood resident has finished Future Link with significantly improved reading and math skills, great friends and a full-time job as a custodian at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
"The support system has helped me a lot and I just wanted to say, from the bottom of my heart, that I thank you, and God bless all of you," Gibson said during Thursday's commencement ceremony for nine graduates of Future Link.
Gibson and his fellow graduates celebrated at the Bel Air Armory with their teachers, administrators, relatives, friends and even some of their employers.
Future Link is Harford County Public School's post-secondary program for young adult students with disabilities. About 24 students, ages 18 to 21 who have completed four years at an HCPS high school, learn academic, independent living and job skills, Robin Nemser, a Future Link special educator, said after the ceremony.
Students are in the program for two to three years, and they receive a Maryland High School Certificate of Program Completion when they finish, according to Nemser.
Students can audit courses at Harford Community College, meaning they can sit in on classes but do not receive a grade, such as history, physical education, art, health, even child care, Nemser said.
Nemser said program administrators' main goal is for each graduate to be employed when he or she leaves Future Link.
Six of nine 2016 graduates have found jobs, and the rest will work with local adult agencies, such as the ARC Northern Chesapeake Region, to find employment, Nemser said.
Gibson and his classmate, 20-year-old Samantha "Sam" Finkelstein, of Abingdon, spoke during the ceremony about their experiences.
Finkelstein, who came to Future Link from Patterson Mill High School, has worked at the Arby's restaurant in Bel Air South since last fall.
She said later that she has gained "better social skills" and is "better with everything."
Finkelstein said she enjoyed trips to the local library.
"I love to read," she said.
Finkelstein said she has gained friendships through Future Link, the type of friendships she did not have at high school.
"I love it," she said. "Some people are nicer than others, but it all works out in the end."
Their fellow graduates are Dane Canfield, who came from Harford Technical High School; Andrew Carrington, from Bel Air High School; Justin Hayden, of Harford Tech; and John Palaia II, Victoria Standiford, Joshua Tudor and Marcus Underwood, all from Aberdeen High School.
A slide show, made up of photos of the graduates on the job and taking part in recreational activities, was played during the ceremony. Many photos drew laughs from the audience.
Nemser and her fellow Future Link teacher, Amy Buddemeier, invited each graduate to walk across the Armory stage to get his or her certificate. The teachers shared brief stories about each person and their contributions to the program.
Various Harford County employers coordinate with Future Link to provide jobs for the students – the 2016 graduates have found work with Harford County Public Schools, APG, and local restaurants. They can either work for pay or volunteer, and some work with children with disabilities.
Six of the nine 2016 graduates have either worked or volunteered at The John Archer School east of Bel Air, which serves HCPS students with disabilities.
"We can provide them with vocational experiences, and in turn, they support us in educating students with severe and profound disabilities," Randy Geyer, an assistant principal, said after the ceremony.
Their typical duties involve custodial work or serving as lunch feeders, helping John Archer students as they eat their lunches. Future Link workers, who Geyer called "incredible young men and women," can socialize with the students, or they can help cut their food, guide it into their mouths and help them chew and swallow.
Gibson, who previously worked at John Archer, said Future Link workers are "like a big brother to them, or maybe like a father figure."
"I learned that you start to grow more of a leadership [role], and people start to look up to you more, and you become a very important person in their lives," he said.