What is Ulster BOCES?
Yolanda Knox

Ulster BOCES means different things to different people. To Yolanda Knox, Ulster BOCES means support in the first steps taken to create a new life.

A drug addict for many years, Knox was using heavily until the spring of 2005. “Sleeping anywhere there was an offer,” is how she describes the struggle that she lived day to day. “There were no fringe benefits and no vacation time,” she says about her lifestyle. “The drugs were beating my body down.”

After being diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, which required Yolanda to undergo seven blood transfusions to survive, she received a visit from her daughter begging her to “get clean” so that she could become a positive role model and be able to watch her granddaughter grow up.

“I stopped right then,” Yolanda recalls. “At first, when I stopped using drugs it was for the kids. But once I was in Drug Court I told the judge, ‘By any means necessary, I want to get clean and stay clean.’ He shook my hand and told me, ‘A lot of people think you can’t do it, but I think you can.’” The Ulster Regional Drug Treatment Court tailors its program to individuals, but usually involves counseling, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings and mandatory drug testing.

The participant's efforts to beat their addictions are closely scrutinized by probation officials, treatment specialists, defense attorneys and representatives of the Ulster County District Attorney's Office.

After serving three years in prison and working with Drug Court, she was able to get into treatment through Renaissance (a not-for-profit organization committed to the professional treatment of people affected by substance abuse) to begin her recovery. While at Renaissance, Yolanda attended Ulster BOCES Literacy classes and earned her General Educational Development (GED) diploma. Additionally, Yolanda was eligible for VESID (Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities) support and obtained funding to continue her education at Ulster BOCES Adult Career Education Center.

“I was determined to come out better than when I came in,” Yolanda says. While still attending outpatient substance abuse rehabilitation classes at Bridgeback, a Kingston Hospital based treatment center, Yolanda enrolled in the Ulster BOCES Administrative Office Practice program. “It was more important to me than anything to make a better life for myself and my family,” Yolanda recalls.

However, that commitment did not come without challenges. Without a vehicle, Yolanda was dependent upon public transportation to get herself to and from class. Juggling her Ulster BOCES coursework with her commitment to taking rehabilitation classes at Bridgeback was difficult but rewarding, Yolanda says. At the same time, she was helping raise three grandchildren, now ages two, three, and four.

After completing the Administrative Office Practice program in September 2006, Yolanda accepted an internship position in the Ulster BOCES Adult Career Education Center in Port Ewen to hone her skills while building her resume. “The days were a little bit crazy,” Yolanda says. The full schedule was a challenge, but one Yolanda readily accepted.

At the same time, Yolanda participated in the Ulster BOCES Projects With Industry program, where she received additional services, such as work readiness training, job development and placement, and ongoing counseling, under the direction of MaryGrace T. Renella, M.Ed, MBA, Projects with Industry Job Developer/Counselor.

The supportive staff were co-workers, friends, and mentors to Yolanda. “The staff encouraged me to keep trying, no matter how many times I was rejected at an interview or didn’t get a call back,” Yolanda says. “Through my experience with Ulster BOCES I learned a lot of patience and tolerance.” Interning at Ulster BOCES also allowed Yolanda to finesse her interpersonal skills in a professional office setting. “Working in the Ulster BOCES office gave me the confidence I needed to approach potential employers in a professional manner,” Yolanda says.

Yolanda credits Ulster BOCES with giving her the skills she needs to succeed and separate herself from her former lifestyle. “I’ve lost a lot of friends to drugs, either the drug lifestyle or death,” she reflects. “My ultimate goal is to go to college, and more than anything, I want to be a drug counselor.”

For her excellent work and remarkable personal and professional transformation, Yolanda was recently recognized as “Student of the Year” by the New York Association for Continuing Community Education.

“When they told me I was ‘Student of the Year’, I was flabbergasted,” Yolanda states. “Going to Albany to meet Assemblyman Kevin Cahill and Senator Bill Larkin was exciting and such an honor.” It is especially significant to Yolanda that the staff at Ulster BOCES was able to witness her transformation. “They know where I came from to where I am now,” remarks Yolanda. “Ulster BOCES was the first important step towards a new life for myself.”