Pratt Academy’s Valatina Garnier sees hope for the future after meeting two teachers who ‘opened my heart and changed my mind’

Valatina Garnier hated school.

She’d never felt successful, or like she belonged, and she honestly didn’t see the point of showing up.

“School was a struggle,” she said. “I never thought I’d graduate.”

Then she transferred to Eagle Peak School (now Pratt Academy).

“Valatina arrived at Pratt feeling like the whole world was against her. She’d been told with regularity that she was not capable of fulfilling her dreams,” teacher Tom Cook said. “While this would be crushing for most young adults, Valatina decided to use it as fuel.”

However, turning that negativity into motivation took time.

“She really had to learn just how to be a student. At first, school wasn’t a priority, but she continued to come,” teacher Chris Wirth said. “Our program switched from behavior to credit recovery, and even though things were not easy and there were a lot of distractions outside of school, she started to make positive relationships at Pratt Academy.”

Garnier was candid about the attitude she initially brought to the school.

“I was angry and disrespectful,” she said.

To her amazement, her teachers weathered her outbursts with kindness and patience.

“No matter what attitude I came in with, or how disrespectful I was, every day was a new day,” she said. “Every time I came in, they greeted me. Mr. Cook and Mr. Wirth went above and beyond to make me feel loved and welcomed. They got me so excited for school.”

She paused as her emotions welled.

“Every kid deserves to come to a school where they feel loved and welcomed.”

Even more than that, the staff expressed interest in her and discovered the things she enjoyed.

“They knew I loved art, so they gave me art projects to do,” Garnier said.

Wirth chuckled.

“She’s boisterous – she likes to speak her mind, so I hooked her in with debate.”

As she slowly caught up on the classes and credits she was missing, she also took a look inward.

“She took note of the many roadblocks and instances where she lacked support, but more notably, she identified where her own behavior prevented her from moving forward,” Cook said. “Valatina focused on the areas she believed needed improvement and began to make significant changes.”

Garnier said as a child, she’d longed to have two parents and stable housing. Now, she understands what she lacked then has made her into the feisty, clear-minded young adult she’s become.

“I realized things don’t happen to you, they happen for you,” she explained. “They’re part of what made me the best person I could be.”

One of the most common questions high school students hear is, “What do you want to do after graduation?”

Not Garnier.

“No one had ever asked me what I wanted to be,” she said. “When they (Cook and Wirth) asked me, I told them, ‘Why do you care? I’m never going to graduate.”

Their response?

“They said, ‘Yes, you are. So, what do you want to be?’ ” Garnier recalled.

Her teachers’ confidence in her future allowed her to consider the possibilities.

“More than anything Valatina wanted to give back to the community, so she enrolled in the Fire Science program offered by the NewTech Skills Center valley location,” Cook said.

After graduation, she plans to take a year off and then pursue a career as a firefighter or EMT.

“The thing that makes me happiest is helping others,” she said.

In addition to academic knowledge, Garnier said she discovered a truth that will help her throughout her life.

“Today is a new day,” she said. “I’m going to start where I can now and do what I need to do to get to the next step.”

She marvels that her teachers never gave up on her.

“Mr. Cook and Mr. Wirth opened my heart and changed my mind.”

Wirth said students like Garnier are the reason they do what they do.

“She’s a wonderful person with a huge heart,” he said. “I’m so excited that she’s met her goal and will be graduating this June. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.”