In January 2022, Kanye was at risk of not graduating high school. Today, he is the first member of his immediate family to attend college.  On the football field, Kanye had become a star player, named to the Class A all-state team. But in the classroom, he had fallen behind. He attended summer school but still wasn’t making much progress.

Kanye’s success in football helped to motivate him. The head football coach of a major university came to visit, saying he had seen video of Kanye playing and was impressed. He encouraged him to earn his diploma, play for two seasons at a Division II college, and he might be recruited by his university. That got Kanye’s attention. 

He also received more good advice.

“My guidance counselor called me into her office and said I should think about going to Phase 4 Learning Center,” Kanye said. “The deadline was coming up, so I talked to my mom and enrolled.”

He had a lot of work ahead, but Kanye said the staff at Phase 4 was positive he could do it. “I just got focused and studied for hours every day,” he said. “They helped me right away.”

By the spring, Kanye had completed all his work, passing the tests at the end of each lesson, and graduated with his new classmates this summer.

In July, he headed off to college.

What were the keys to his turn around?

“I decided it was up to me. I just had to do it,” Kanye said. “Phase 4 really helped me mature. They were there for me. They really cared.”