When Jose Rivera moved to Lake County from New York, he was told credits from his acting-specific high school wouldn’t transfer to Illinois schools. A junior at the time, he dropped out.
Deanna McMiller left school when she moved out of her parents’ house at the beginning of her senior year. She hasn’t been able to find a job since.
And even though he aspires to be a great filmmaker, Michael Miller said he’s had trouble finding opportunities because he never finished high school.
- Deanna McMiller, 19, looks through pamphlets from area organizations and schools like College of Lake County before her MTV interview. (Megan Craig, Tribune)
Now, the three former students are vying with others for a spot on a new MTV show that aims to offer a second chance to high school dropouts.
MTV, working with the College of Lake County, held a casting call June 24 for possible participants in a show focusing on high school dropouts who want a chance to attend school again. Representatives for the channel declined to offer more specifics on the show’s premise.
“Positive in approach, the show focuses on the students not as drop-outs but as people who are motivated to change their lives,” said an MTV media release.
At least a dozen people showed up at the Waukegan Public Library to interview on camera for the show.
The only requirements: Be between 17 and 20 years old, be outgoing, and be a high school dropout.
Rivera, 17, called the interview a big opportunity.
“I heard MTV was willing to help us, and I really need the help,” he said. “People look down on me because they say I’m supposed to be already in college. But I’m 17. I have my whole life ahead of me. So I’m going to take it one step at a time.”
He hopes to work in fashion design someday, but knows he needs to get a high school degree before design schools will accept his application, he said. And he thinks MTV could be just the place to become a recognized face in the fashion world.
“I’m hoping when they help me, it kind of puts me out there,” he said. “I hope people will recognize me and look at me differently for the way I dress.”
McMiller , 19, said she needed the push to get back to school so she could get a job.
- Michael Miller, 19, said he’d like to go back to school to be a nurse or a filmmaker and hopes an MTV show on high school dropouts could help him. He’s currently earning his GED. (Megan Craig, Tribune)
“I need to get my GED because I’m trying to get some money,” she said. “I’m broke right now.”
She’s been trying to find a job since she left Illinois for Connecticut, but hasn’t been able to find one because of her lack of education.
The college’s Positive Alternative Student Services office also held a mini-resource fair with the MTV interviews, so that even if the students didn’t get cast for TV stardom, they could still have the opportunity to complete high school and enter the workforce, said Cherrivon Lloyd, an outreach specialist with the Lake County Regional Office of Education.
That’s what Miller, 19, plans to do. He’s been pursuing a GED for a few months, and said he’s only a few tests away from completion.
He went to three area high schools before being forced to leave for fighting and truancy issues.
The MTV interviewers were interested in those aspects of his story, he said. But they also wanted to know about his family and his dreams.
“I want to be successful,” he said, adding that he’s most interested in pursuing a career in video editing, photography or directing. He’s also considered going to nursing school and specializing in phlebotomy.
“I’m undecided,” he said. “My mind is open. My options are open.”
