Angel Hardy knew living in a camper parked in the backyard of her friend’s house was no way to live — for her or her son.
The shower never worked; the toilet never worked. Eventually, the water in the kitchen stopped running.
Life had become so bleak that she felt she had no other choice. Hardy had been laid off in 2010. She was unsure of what to do next but knew she needed to get out of the trailer.
A big step in that direction came when a friend asked her if she ever thought about going back to school. As soon as she was asked, Hardy knew in her heart the answer was yes and what she would study: social services.
Angel Hardy and her son. (Photo/Chelsea White/Buckner)
She went immediately to Lone Star College in Conroe, Texas, and enrolled. After two and a half years of living in the tiny trailer, Hardy and her son moved into an apartment in Conroe.
But it wasn’t long before her student loans ran out, leaving her unable to pay the rent. After falling behind for several months, her landlord asked Angel another life-changing question: did she know about Buckner International, a Dallas-based nonprofit charitable organization with Baptist ties?
“I knew about Buckner but I thought it was for victims of domestic violence,” Hardy said. “I didn’t realize it was for single parents to go to school.”
Hardy applied to Buckner’s Family Pathways program and was accepted. She finished her associate degree at Lone Star and then went on to Sam Houston State University for a bachelor’s degree in human services with a special emphasis on victims studies.
“I don’t know where I’d be today without Buckner, that’s for sure,” Hardy said. “I hope to work with Child Protective Services and foster children aging out. … My ultimate goal is to open ‘Reigns of Hope,’ an equine therapy ranch.”
Angel graduated May 5 from Sam Houston. Her five children, brother and grandson were in the audience cheering her on. Her next step is going to graduate school to learn the management side of nonprofits.
“Angel was my very first client I was able to watch from the beginning to the end,” said Kymeicko Williams, Family Pathways case manager in Conroe.
“Angel has always strived very hard for greatness and it shows. It was so wonderful to see her walk across the stage. I was just as proud of her as her family and friends.”
“[Buckner’s help] has meant everything,” Hardy said. “I believe it was all done by God. He put it all in place, in motion.”