When Jacob called Diane one night, she knew things weren’t right.  He told her he was home alone, as he often was, and things weren’t going well.   Hearing the brokenness in his voice, Diane told Jacob to head to his room and stay there.  She was going to be there the next morning.

Diane hung up the phone and turned to her husband, Dennis, who said, “Go, bring him home.”

Diane was on a plane that night from California to North Carolina with mission to bring Jacob back home with her.  Jacob’s mom, Kelly, had become mixed up with drugs.  She couldn’t care for Jacob in the way a 14-year-old boy needed.  He needed stability, love, and safety and Diane knew she and Dennis could provide that in the way her daughter wasn’t.  

The next morning, Diane took Jacob to school and let them know she would be transferring him to California.  It took two days to sort out the transfer, but when the details were finished, Diane and Jacob were on a flight home.

Jacob only had a few weeks of school to finish his 8th grade year so Dennis and Diane enrolled him in the local public school.  Diane didn’t feel like this would be the final landing place but she didn’t want him to fall behind.  As Jacob worked through the last few weeks of school, Diane began searching for the right Christian school.  That’s when she found United Christian Academy.  

Diane and Jacob attended a tour hosted by Mark Williams, the high school principal at the time.  During that tour, Diane noticed how at ease Jacob was.  It was one of the first times she had seen him that way since he moved out West.  

Dennis and Diane had seen how withdrawn and inhibited Jacob was.  They would take him to restaurants, and he would avoid eye-contact and conversation with the server.  He was shy and reserved.  Watching him on the tour, she noticed he seemed to let his guard down with Mr. Williams.  He walked comfortably around UCA.  

Dennis and Diane decided United Christian Academy was the best choice for Jacob.  In the Fall of his freshman year, Jacob started at UCA.  He’s a junior now and has really come out of his shell.  He has made friends, is on the honor roll, and is even starting a club.  He’s joined the yearbook team and has really found community.  

Dennis and Diane attribute UCA with having helped Jacob become more self-confident and outgoing.  Now, when they take him to restaurants, he has no problem asking the waitstaff if they have sweet tea.

They believe that God was intervening on Jacob’s behalf when He led them to United Christian Academy.  “As a staff and a school, you have brought him out of his shell.  At any other school, that probably wouldn’t be the case.”  Diane says.  

After high school, Jacob hopes to attend the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.  His goal is to go into the medical field.  Dennis and Diane are incredibly proud of Jacob for how much he’s grown but also how he continues to take ownership over his own future.  

Dennis and Diane say that choosing UCA was the right choice for Jacob because he’s found the community that he needs to thrive and flourish both now, and in the future.