COSHOCTON − Keagen Leigh stands over the hot grill at the Coshocton Elks Lodge with a bright smile on his face making a chicken wrap, his favorite thing to cook.
He hates to think where he might be if it wasn’t for the Coshocton Opportunity School that helped him to earn a high school diploma and find a job that he hopes will lead to a career.
“This is my favorite place to be,” Leigh said of the Elks Lodge. “I get to learn every day. There’s not a day I don’t come in here and learn something.”
The Opportunity Schools gives dropouts and other non-traditional students a second chance. Along with standard curriculum, the school also offers classes relating to life skills, parenting and relationship building that extend beyond life in high school.
One part of programming had Leigh working in the Coshocton High School cafeteria. He liked it so much Principal Tom Hilgenberg and paraprofessional Davonna Markley helped him get the job at the Elks. He cooks, does dishes, works in kitchen prep and whatever else is needed.
Leigh is one of 24 students who will graduate from the school on May 21.
“He didn’t want to come to school and now he’s just flipped,” Hilgenberg said. “It’s what the opportunity school is about, getting kids back on the right track and loving what they’re doing.”
Hilgenberg is also assisting Leigh in finding scholarships and financial aid to attend culinary arts classes at the Buckeye Career Center in New Philadelphia. The 18-year-old is working on getting a driver’s license and finding a car — something he said he wouldn’t have had the motivation to do before.
Leigh shared he got into trouble and had academic issues at River View. He was held back in the second grade. The opportunity school helped him make up the lost year and he accredits the one-on-one guidance and caring from staff he received.
“They actually made it interesting to learn and actually help you instead of letting you fend for yourself,” Leigh confided. “They explained (lessons) different ways until I got it, because there are multiple ways people interpret things.”
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 18 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: New diploma, new direction: Graduate eyes life beyond the classroom
Reporting by Leonard L. Hayhurst, Coshocton Tribune / Coshocton Tribune
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