Class of 2025 graduate Cynthia Davis will be achieving what she has been pushing her own children to do for years, as she walks across the stage to receive her high school diploma from the CBK Charter School. Her story exemplifies the Courage to Build Knowledge (CBK) title, overcoming her fear of returning to school, finding confidence as she began completing coursework, and, ultimately, receiving the CBK Charter School’s Riverside County Exceptional Scholar Award and a Riverside County Barbara Hale Exceptional Scholar Award. 

At 38 years old, Cynthia had been wanting to go back to school for a very long time, “It was just an overwhelming desire to accomplish something that I didn’t get to do. It was something that was missing inside of me that I wanted to say I did.”  

Cynthia and her siblings had been placed in foster care when she was 14 years old and the instability they experienced in the system had a significant impact on her education. 

“We bounced around a lot. We were dealt the scary aspect of foster care. We didn’t have the great, wonderful ones some people get. The last one I was in, I ran away from at age 17 and that is when I dropped out of school.” 

The next several years were turbulent for Cynthia as well, “I bounced around from friend to friend . . . I winged it until I met my husband. From age 17 to 21 is pretty much a mess, starting over lots of times and never knowing if I had a place to stay.” 

When she met her husband at age 21, Cynthia recalls his persistence, “I was still pretty messed up, but he kept trying to help me.” And, he became a pillar of compassion and stability that helped Cynthia and her family in the years to come.

Focus on Family

After Cynthia and her husband married, they watched their siblings struggling, and took in their children. For Cynthia, going back to school became “something that would get put on the back burner, putting my kids or the kids we took in first. Every day for the last 14 years, I’ve been encouraging the children to push themselves, work hard, learn, get their education, and I wasn’t doing it for myself.” 

During those years, Cynthia and her husband took in her sister’s 4-year-old son, who stayed with them for 18 months. A year later, they took in her brother’s two young children. 

“It was difficult because in my heart, I thought their parents would get them back, but that didn’t happen, so I moved to adopt them.” 

Not long after, they also took custody of Cynthia’s sister-in-law’s children, ages 10, 11, and 16. 

Even with a busy, growing household, the desire to go back to school was always with Cynthia, “I had attempted to sign up for school about five times, I even thought about taking the big test and doing that. I was super terrified of it, but going back crossed my mind many times.” 

A new member in Cynthia’s household, helped open a door for her to pursue dream. Cynthia and her mother had mended their relationship, and her mother was available to help with childcare to make time for Cynthia to return to school.

Cynthia finally talked to a friend from church who worked in education about going back to school and she recommended the CBK Charter School program. Cynthia researched the program and enrolled.  

First Day Back to School

When the day arrived to start school, Cynthia battled her nerves as she made her way to the CBK Charter location at the Corona Library.  “I talked to my husband all the way to school. I was shaking. I felt like a little kid going to a new school . . . I got to the school and it’s in the library, up the stairs, and I’m trying to carry stuff, and what do I do? I fell! My stomach was in knots . . . I walked in and was so full of nerves.” 

Cynthia’s teacher, Ms. Brandy Reeves recalls meeting Cynthia on that first day, “When Cynthia came in, she was literally shaking and physically seemed so nervous, scared, and frazzled. You could tell she was fighting against everything in her to even just walk through the door.”   

Ms. Reeves has been a Special Academic Instruction teacher at the CBK Charter School for nine years and was previously a teacher and school counselor. She has seen how CBK Charter School’s independent study program serving students age 13 and up is uniquely able to meet the needs of students. Teachers set up coursework and meet with their students individually once each week. Students can connect with their teachers for assistance whenever needed, but are not required to be in a traditional classroom setting.  

Looking back at her first meeting with Cynthia, Ms. Reeves knows this was a key factor in helping Cynthia be successful, “If she had walked into a classroom she would not have come back. Because it is one-on-one, she was reassured I was going to support her, and she wasn’t going to have to feel the pressure of other people knowing what she knew or didn’t know or her struggles or any of that.” 

Cynthia credits Ms. Reeves with helping her work through her fears. “I just feel that this teacher was handpicked for me. She was caring of my story and my schedule, everything. It made me feel less scared about it.” 

For Cynthia, who continued to question her ability to succeed and who was already busy with six kids at home, it was Ms. Reeves that kept her focused and determined to meet her goal.  

“For my particular story because I left for so long, it was important for me to have this teacher who was patient. Who said, ‘Hey, I’m here and I’m going to help you through this.’” 

Ms. Reeves recalls, “Cynthia kept saying, ‘I can’t do this, I’m not good at school.’ And, I just said let’s just start with this class, let’s see how you do. You’ll probably surprise yourself. And, as she started working on the classes, she was surprising herself!” 

Building Resilience

As Cynthia worked through her courses, Ms. Reeves was her constant support, “I would send a text message and Ms. Reeves would encourage me and tell me, ‘don’t be too hard on yourself and take your time, as long as you are getting done what you need each week.’ I feel her overall personality was very welcoming, and made me feel very comfortable. I don’t think I would have done well with a teacher like a staff sergeant.” 

In June 2024, as Cynthia was getting close to finishing her coursework, her sister passed away. Ms. Reeves was there to support Cynthia as she processed the death of her last living sibling, which hit her particularly hard. 

Cynthia shared, “I’ve battled with a lot through the last years of my life. I’ve lost a lot. My life started in trauma, I lost my dad when I was six, and I lost my older sister when I was 11, then I lost my brother in 2017 and my sister in 2024. And, I didn’t deal with it very well, so I had to figure out how to be there for everyone else. I always wanted to save them and be there for them. When that doesn’t happen, you have this weight on you.” 

Ms. Reeves would not let that burden keep Cynthia from continuing her education. 

“This was one of the things Ms. Reeves was so beautiful about. She just told me to take my time. I was even considering stopping because I was getting so far behind, but she just encouraged me and told me to take my time and do what I needed to get through it. I did! I caught up in a couple weeks’ time.” 

When asked about how she was able to help Cynthia believe she could succeed, Ms. Reeves commends Cynthia, “I have to give Cynthia credit, she was willing to open up and help me understand what she needed and what she was going through.” 

Graduation

Now, as Cynthia looks forward to her graduation, she also reflects on her life decisions that put her dream on hold. 

“It’s a lot of emotion. There were lots of battles I had to go through raising the kids and not being like the rest of my family, but I was always there when it came to my family members and their kids. Life has a way of having its share of ups and downs, but we can take each hard day and use it to build a brighter path for ourselves and the ones around us.” 

Cynthia has certainly built a brighter path for herself and her family. The daughter who joined the family at 16 years old has since entered a credit recovery program and graduated from high school. Her siblings, who joined Cynthia’s family at ages 10 and 11, are now both in college. 

Cynthia looks forward to all of her family being with her to celebrate on graduation day. 

“After all the doubts I had in the beginning, the fear, it’s over. I did it. I legit did it! Now I can continue on to what I want to do next.” Cynthia shared that she wants to work with young teenagers or women, and hopes her experience can help them through similar challenges.  

Ms. Reeves has no doubt that Cynthia will continue to find success and is confident her experience at CBK Charter School will play a role in helping others. “It helped her overcome this huge hurdle, so I know when she is helping other young people who have been in a similar situation as her, they are going to feel and believe that she understands.” 

When asked what advice Cynthia would share with others facing challenges similar to her own, Cynthia shared, “Sometimes, it is in our darkest moments, we have the greatest strength for ourselves and others, to fight another day, walk through another door, and find those reasons to smile because they're there waiting for you to see them.” 

And, for those who might feel overwhelmed by the thought of returning to school, or any challenge they may face, Cynthia shares a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt that inspired her during her time at CBK Charter School: 

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”