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Investing In Our Residents' Future

Photo: Residents study in the Neighborhood Network Center at Villa Americana in Houston, Texas.

Recently, Summit Asset Management purchased and began to operate Villa Americana, an aging 258-unit community, in Houston, Texas. At Villa Americana's Learning Center, classes for high school equivalency degrees are taught.

“We have free GED classes that are open to members of the public, not just Villa Americana residents. Certified instructors teach those classes three days a week.

Students work at whatever level they need to pass that test,” Villa Americana property manager Irene Davis explains.

In partnership with a local university in Houston and Challenge 2000, a local non-profit organization, Villa Americana offers computer instruction, as well as lessons in self-esteem, job-skills, typing and reading on the center's 13 new computers.

PaTrina Guidry-Lee, center site coordinator, believes in the value of such courses because she is a graduate of one. “I got my computer skills from a GED course in a neighborhood network center when I started in this business,” Guidry-Lee explains. “We are here to let the residents know that we can help them achieve their goals.”

Corey Whittaker of Houston recently completed the two month GED course at Villa Americana. An 11th-grade dropout, he took a job with the Harris County Hospital District as an emergency registering clerk. “I took the opportunity to change my life around and make a superior future for myself and my family,” Whittaker notes.