The Excel Center run by Goodwill is changing Hoosier lives

INDIANAPOLIS — One year after opening its southeast side location, The Excel Center run by Goodwill is helping adults change their lives.

The center works to help Hoosiers who were formerly incarcerated and those who are without high school diplomas.

Inside the building on Sloan Avenue you'll find many opportunities offering some Hoosiers a fresh start.

"Everybody needs an education. Education is everything," Chris McGraw, a recent graduate of the Excel Southeast said. "I graduated June 27."

A major accomplishment, which at one point seemed like an impossible task.

"I dropped out of high school in the year 2000. From there I just started working," McGraw said.

Although McGraw could maintain employment, he said ultimately something was missing.

"Every job I had man it was like a ceiling. That little piece of paper was so important," McGraw said.

Important enough to make him take a friend’s advice and join The Excel Center.

"A child of a parent who has not finished their high school diploma is 50% more likely to drop out themselves." Katie Bustamante, VP of Education of The Excel Center.

The Excel Center generally requires at least five, eight-week terms depending on the student's career field of study.

"Not only do they graduate with a core high school diploma, but they also graduate with industry recognize certifications and or college dual credits," Johnny Manson, School Director for The Excel Center Southeast said.

In the Hoosier state, there are 24 centers.

In central and southern Indiana alone, nearly 5,000 students are enrolled across 18 centers.

At the southeast location, a center that just opened last year ended its first year with 205 students and graduated 22 students, including McGraw.

"Some great people over there from the coaches to the teachers to the students. It was nothing but love, it felt like a family," McGraw said. "Everybody wanted to see you win and just being in that positive environment, you can't lose. All you got to do is show up with the right mind frame and the sky is the limit."

As The Excel Southeast Center prepares for year two on Monday, the mindset is to keep making meaningful changes.

The Excel Center said that five years after graduation, graduates see an increase of 38% in earnings compared to their peers.

McGraw says that in the fall he is going back to school to study psychology and theology, with hopes of becoming a pastor.