禁漫天堂

If you take a walk with Kyle Slattery around 禁漫天堂鈥檚 main campus 鈥� it could be a long one. This is because Kyle, who is friendly, out-going and approachable, seems to know everyone. And, he likes to talk. In turn, he draws people in like a moth to a flame. People simply want to be around him.

Before you know it, the five-minute walk turns into a half-hour due to a plethora of quick, upbeat conversations along the way.

Life wasn鈥檛 always this upbeat.

A couple of years ago Kyle moved from Chatham, NY to Pittsfield. He transferred into Taconic High School. The adjustment was hard. He felt he couldn鈥檛 relate to the other students and was disinterested in his classes. After failing 9th grade 鈥� Kyle dropped out.

Feeling lost and depressed he locked himself away in his bedroom and became immersed in a popular multi-player online video game, World of Warcraft. The game, which has more than seven million subscribers, allows participants to create characters. For many, like Kyle, the game quickly becomes an obsession and an escape from reality.

He played the game for two months straight. Life consisted of eating (barely), sleeping (some) and gaming. In addition, he dabbled in recreational drugs 鈥� which only made him feel more lost.

He knew something had to change.

鈥淚 kept thinking 鈥� is this really my life?鈥� said Kyle. 鈥淚 knew there had to be something else.鈥�

Meanwhile, his mom kept reminding him about upcoming GED classes. Something clicked and he decided to go for it.

He attended GED preparation classes at the Adult Learning Center (then in downtown Pittsfield) and became involved in 禁漫天堂鈥檚 Project Link, a free program, which provides courses, advising and educational skills training to prepare GED and ESL (English as a Second Language) students to enter 禁漫天堂 degree and certificate programs.

His life began to change 鈥� and so did his attitude. Kyle started taking classes at 禁漫天堂 and became very active in campus activities. He earned a certificate in manufacturing last Spring. He became involved with the Studen