Life School Oak Cliff graduate Damian English is affectionately known as a “lifer.” Damian began his education as a kindergartener in 2005 and graduated in 2017, completing his entire K-12 years as a student at Life School Oak Cliff. Opening in 1998, with only 266 students and 15 staff, Life School has now grown to a network of over 5,700 students across 8 campuses. However, over the years, the small southern Dallas neighborhood school has managed to maintain the close-knit community that allowed students like Damian to flourish.
Growing up in a home with only a father and his beloved dogs, Damian's influences from his family were limited. Like many single-parent homes, Damian didn’t receive a tremendous amount of communication or accountability when it came to academics. Thanks to a small campus of caring teachers, students and administrators, Damian found a supportive family at Life School. “Life School is where I met my family,” Damian recalls.
From the time he was enrolled in kindergarten, Damian found that he could count on the people at Life School. As a shy, quiet child, he is certain that the smaller classrooms and campus full of familiar faces allowed him to grow in confidence and eventually thrive.
“I was a very shy kid, and it was hard for me to talk to people,” says Damian. “I know that if I had gone to a larger school, I wouldn’t have had the same opportunity to grow in confidence.”
In his middle school years, a math teacher named Mr. Eyre significantly impacted Damian. He taught students they could do or be anything they wanted. He encouraged his students to dream outside of what many of their circumstances and experiences might have taught them they could do or be. It was this type of inspiration that encouraged Damian to begin exploring a more ambitious future.
As he entered high school, Damian was identified as a talented student and asked to participate in the dual credit program at Life High School Oak Cliff. The accelerated program placed students on a track that would allow them to obtain an associate's degree while they completed their high school diploma. Damian began taking college-level courses at Mountain View Community College as early as his freshman year of high school.
Through the success he experienced in his advanced classes, Damian learned that he was capable of great things. He continued to do well in both his advanced placement and dual credit courses throughout high school. When he graduated in 2017 with an associate’s degree, Damian was confident that his future was bright.
Upon graduation, Damian was determined to pursue a career in medicine. In the fall of 2017, he enrolled as a nursing student at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). With so many college credits already completed, Damian was able to focus on extracurricular credits and transitioned to higher education without being overwhelmed in his core classes.
In 2021, he completed his nursing degree and obtained a role at Medical Center Arlington. As a med-surge nurse working on the oncology floor, Damian is both honored and humbled by what he has the opportunity to do each day.
“I love getting to visit with patients, hear about their experiences and learn from their setbacks. It is new and different every day,” says Damian.
In addition to the benefits of the academic training he received at Life School, the leadership skills he learned are also paying dividends. Damian has already been identified and tasked with leadership responsibilities as a charge nurse at Medical Center Arlington in just 2 short years.
Damian knows he’s not done learning and growing. Content with his role for now, he’s considering what his future might look like with additional educational opportunities.
“I’m not really sure what is next for me. I’m working on getting my chemo certification now and hope to continue to pursue other opportunities in the future,” says Damian.
And while he is not 100% sure of his next upward steps, he is certain he would not be where he is today without the encouragement and support he received from Life School.
