Taeng was born on the other side of the world in Thailand. He never knew his father. Soon after his mother brought his older sister and him to Texas, she put them up for adoption. However, he and his sister ended up in several foster homes in different states. By 10 years old, he had finally found a stable foster home in Illinois and the family moved to Omaha, but his sister was unhappy about the move and ran away. Taeng has never seen her since. His “new” mom was a teacher in Omaha Public Schools (OPS), and his adoption was finalized in 2021. She heard about the D2 Center at her school when Taeng was in the 10th grade. Hansel Gonzalez became his D2 Center Youth Academic Navigator in January 2022 and supported him for two and a half years.
Taeng struggled in high school. He skipped classes, came in late sometimes or not at all. Although he was academically capable, this caused some failure in a few classes and mediocre grades in others. Hansel visited him frequently at school and was always trying to coach him out of feelings of negativity about school and being down. On several occasions his mom would contact Hansel asking him to talk to Taeng about his negative feelings. Hansel noticed that he didn’t really have any true friends. As Taeng described it, his classmates were just “acquaintances.” He was so unhappy that in his 11th grade year he transferred to the Independent Studies Program for a semester. But that didn’t work out because he completely lost his motivation and ended up earning only one credit that semester. With his mom’s and Hansel’s encouragement, he decided to go back to his high school, and Hansel continued to provide emotional support and encouragement to attend classes and turn in work. Working with his school counselor, Hansel convinced Taeng that if he passed all his classes in his senior year, that he could still graduate on time.
Taeng showed more maturity and determination in his senior year. His attendance improved and he passed all his classes. Hansel stated that of all the students he’s worked with over the past few years, Taeng needed his attention the most. He called and texted Hansel frequently and sometimes even took positive actions based on Hansel’s advice. He has asked Hansel to stay in touch with him as he transitions to early adulthood.
At his graduation party, Taeng told Hansel that he would work construction this summer and hoped to be able to afford a car. He also decided, with support from his mom and Hansel, that he would go to Metropolitan Community College in the fall of 2024 and start his general studies with a career goal of being a photographer. For a young man born on the other side of the world having been through many trials in his young life, he was finally finding some success and a place for himself.