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Mindy, a graduate of Hope Academy, Fairbanks recovery-focused high school, learned an important lesson during her stay — the importance of being honest.

“I learned I had to be honest with myself,” Mindy says. “I had been lying to myself.”

Mindy immediately clicked with the staff, but the expectations were different than what she was used to.

“They weren’t just focused on your grades. They were focused on your sobriety, too.”

Mindy graduated from Hope Academy on May 28th, 2010, and has enrolled at IVY Tech Community College. After she finishes at IVY Tech she wants to earn a degree in mortuary sciences, but is committed to taking life one day at a time.

“I live by that,” she says with a smile.
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Debra, a former patient who now volunteers at Fairbanks, says that the best thing she received from her time in recovery here, was when she left.

“I had to face life on my own, and I learned I wasn’t afraid anymore – I could feel the peace.”

Being at Fairbanks, Debra says, helped her find the woman she’s been hiding all these years. “When I look in the mirror, I can say I actually like this person,” she says. “I had to deal with all my emotions and stuff. Before recovery, my emotions were in a bottle.”

“My biggest thrill is talking with the other women at Fairbanks,” she says. “They think I’m helping them…they’re helping me.”
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“For me rock bottom isn’t a place, it’s a feeling,” added Frank.

Frank chose recovery on September 13, 1996 when he came to Fairbanks. Although he had attempted sobriety many other times, this time he wanted it for good.

“Fairbanks had my best interest,” said Frank. “Everyone at Fairbanks helped me get honest and cut through the denial to see who I really was.” According to Frank one of the ways he stays sober is through volunteering at Fairbanks with the adolescents. For him, it is how he gives back.

“Life today is 180 degrees different from what it was when I was using,” said Frank. “It’s not what I have, it’s how I feel.”
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