Russian immigrant finds hope through Simon Youth Foundation and earns her high school diploma

Simon Youth Foundation is celebrating 1,000 graduates in its Class of 2011, and nearly all of them have overcome extraordinary personal circumstances to earn their diplomas.

One of their stories was featured by two television stations in Youngstown, Ohio. Channel 27 WKBN, the CBS News affiliate, and Channel 33 WYTV, the ABC News affiliate, both featured graduate Olga Courtney in their June 3 coverage of the graduation ceremony for the Simon Youth Mahoning County Academy at Southern Park Mall.

Olga Courtney is pictured left with another
Simon Youth Foundation graduate
and scholarship winner, Brittany Hoop

Courtney was raised in an orphanage in Russia before migrating to the United States when she was seven-years-old. She spoke no English when her adoptive parents brought her to her new home. 

In high school, Courtney became pregnant, and her path to graduation became uncertain. Still, the young mother understood the importance of education and what it would mean for her young family's future.

Helped by the stability provided by her current foster parents, Courtney and her academy teachers in September, 2010, set to the task of completing the credits she needed to earn her high school diploma .

"We point towards this day (graduation day) from the time they come here. Whether it's two years or six months, today is the day we work towards," Simon Youth Mahoning County Academy principal Brad Justice told WKBN in his interview with the station the night it covered the Simon Youth Foundation graduation ceremony.

Courtney also is quoted in the station's report, saying that she was "pretty proud," and as if earning her diploma was not enough, her classroom performance helped Courtney earn a Simon Youth Scholarships that is valued at up to $28,000. The money will help cover her costs to attend Kent State University: Salem in the fall of 2011.

"Simon Youth Foundation believes that high school graduation should be a beginning and not an end for our academy students," says J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., the foundation's President and CEO. "That is why I am so proud that our Simon Youth Scholarships program has been able to award more than $1.15 million in scholarships in 2011, which has helped remove the financial obstacles that would otherwise have prevented post-secondary education opportunities for 260 recipients nationwide."