Jelan Gentry knew the odds were stacked against him. “I knew that I didn’t want to be another statistic,” he said. “I didn’t want to be another one of those kids that just fell off.” When he was 15 years old, Jelan told his mother he was gay. The family struggled to accept him for who he was, so Jelan made the tough decision to leave the house. “I was kind of feeling like no one was really having my back,” he said. “I started to rebel and I started to run away. Once I ran away, I was bouncing around from house to house pretty much. I was sleeping on couches, and was missing a lot of school from that.” Jelan went through a slew of foster homes, but he remained hopeful. “I knew that there was a family out there that was going to be able to talk things through with me,” he said. “There was going to be a family out there that was going to be able to handle my sexuality.” Jelan finally found a stable foster home, but he found his true family at Rio Americano High School. “We have a really strong LGBTQ community,” Rio Americano High School Counselor Meghan Wilson said. “And we also hold meetings. And the kids are inclusive. And I think he could be who he really was here. And he knew he was accepted in that way.” That’s not to say everything was picture perfect from the start. Jelan arrived at Rio Americano broken and bitter. It took time to build relationships with staff members and students. “Jelan definitely came in not trusting anybody,” Rio Americano High School Vice Principal Rob Kerr said. “So that is a tough thing to build over time, and luckily Jelan hung in there.” Rio Americano High School Principal Brian Ginter met Jelan when he first arrived at the school. Ginter said he was immediately drawn to Jelan and his potential. “I kind of felt like he could make something of himself and turn it around,” Ginter said. “And I just stuck with him no matter how mean or nasty he may have been at the time. But he did turn it around because he wanted to.”

Over time, Jelan embraced the people at Rio Americano as they encouraged him to live life as his truest self. “I feel like I found a very supportive community here at Rio,” he said. “No matter what I wanted to do. If I wanted to wear nails one day, I could wear that. If I wanted to wear wigs one day, I could do that here.” Jelan graduated from Rio Americano in December and plans to attend college in North Carolina this fall.  “Honestly, I would say I’m really proud of who I am now,” Jelan said. “Yes, I still deal with things to this day. But when you’re happy with yourself, no one can tell you what you can be and who you can be. I’m so strong that no one can break me down. I know that I’m always going to pick myself up no matter what.”