Dr. Travita Godfrey: How Can Students Get and Stay Sober in High School?

Mar 14

Dr. Travita Godfrey serves as principal of Fortis Academy, which she sees as a safe haven for students' academic and personal growth. Located in Harris County, Texas, Fortis is just one of 40 recovery high schools in the country. With 22 years of experience in education, Travita guides students recovering from substance misuse each day. She holds a master’s in counseling from Houston Christian University and a doctorate in public health from the University of Texas Arlington. Travita is also a certified recovery specialist.

“It's not an idea of punishment, it's an idea of learning and getting better and understanding that person. If we want that person to become a productive citizen, a person who's out in the world doing great things, then we have to give them the tools to do that.”

- Dr. Travita Godfrey’s message for parents with children struggling with substance misuse

Substance misuse is a problem. But that’s not the root problem, says guest Dr. Travita Godrey, principal of Fortis Academy in Harris County, Texas, which aims to both educate students and support their sobriety. Being the principal of one of only 40 recovery high schools in the United States isn’t always easy. But it’s always rewarding, Travita says. Substance misuse, she says, is typically a response to a different, deeper hurt or pain.

In this episode of The Mayo Lab Podcast, Travita tells David how she came to this work and how Fortis uses everything from cooking classes to a poodle named Blake to help students find their joy. Travita and David also discuss how parents can take a step back to identify the root cause of substance misuse.

Watch the podcast on YouTube:

David Magee: I am David Magee and this is The Mayo Lab Podcast.
The conversation among so many parents, so many students, particularly high school students, is if you want to get sober in high school, how do you do that? Across this country, there are 40 high schools, roughly, that are working at doing just that very thing. They are what we call recovery high schools.
These high schools create a unique and special experience for students who are suffering from substance use disorder, who have struggled with substance misuse, but they want better. They want to change their lives, but often it requires, according to the data, they have better chances of success, Alexis, if they can get in a school specialized for their care rather than going back into the school, their preexisting school.
Alexis Lee: Right. And I think we have a great guest today that's going to talk to us just about that, Travita Godfrey. She is the principal Fortis Academy HCDE'S recovery high school. And she has 23 years of experience as an educator, prevention specialist and counselor, and that really has equipped her to lead this high school well. And I think we're going to have a lot of insights for parents in this episode.
All right, Dr. Travita Godfrey, welcome to the Mayo Lab Podcast.
Dr. Travita Godfrey: Thank you so much. I'm happy to be here.
Magee: So how in the world do you find yourself in the position of serving as principal at one of the recovery high schools, not just in Texas, but one of really the 40 across America?
Dr. Godfrey: Well, it really began several years ago when I was in college. I worked at a recovery residential facility when I was in college. It started as volunteer work. My college required that we completed so many hours of volunteer service, and so I started working at a recovery center and I liked that so much that I became a certified recovery specialist.
And so when I came to Houston as a teacher, I wanted to continue that work of counseling and working in my community. And so I became a school counselor and from there I gained some leadership positions in education. And I heard about this wonderful opportunity at Fortis Academy to provide some specialized recovery and skills training to students who are trying to get over their substance misuse. And so when I heard about that opportunity, I just gravitated towards it. And they were looking for someone who had a background, not only in education and leadership, but also in counseling.
And so what I like to say is I'm forever a counselor. That's where my heart is. That's really my niche and that's really what I'm good at. And they say, do those things that you're good at and things that come easy to you. And so that is how I ended up at Fortis Academy. And I must say it is one of the best opportunities that I've had to work with students and families.
Magee: I can hear that excitement in your voice, and those of us that both live a life in recovery and have worked with students in recovery, we know that them having passionate mentors, passionate counselors, passionate people engaged with them can make all of the difference.
So Fortis Academy that you're the principal of, that's in the Harris County Department of Education. So those that don't know, Harris County, isn't that right, is the county that encompasses the whole ... in the Houston metro area, right?
Dr. Godfrey: Yes.
Magee: The Houston City limits are inside Harris County.
Dr. Godfrey: Yes.
Magee: So you're in one of the more populous areas in the country.
Dr. Godfrey: Absolutely.
Magee: And so Fortis Academy is opened. Is it a public school? Is it a public-private partnership? What is it?
Dr. Godfrey: So Fortis Academy is actually a public institution, so we don't charge tuition and it's open to any student in the 26 districts within Harris County, but we also service students outside of the county. And we currently have students at our school that are outside of Harris County.
Magee: Okay. So you've got maybe, I think you can take up to 30 students, and I think you told us before we got on the air, you've got about 21 in now. Tell me what experience does a student have in a recovery high school where they're trying to stay sober? What looks different within Fortis Academy that's different from what they might experience in their previous school?
Dr. Godfrey: I will say the thing that you can see visually is the size. And so we have a small school, we have a max of 30, and we have about 21 students currently across six districts. And so, because we're small, that's by design so that our students have that capability where they can really work one on one and really receive a customized recovery plan.
From their academics to their treatment, to their counseling, to their recovery coaching, even down to what they eat on our campus, everything is personalized and customized because we are so small. So that's one of the things that's different from a typical Texas high school.
And if you know anything about Texas, everything's big in Texas, including our high schools. And so for a student to try to create a sober situation in a school where there's 4,000 other students is very difficult. And so here for us, that's one of the things that students really enjoy. They enjoy the small size, things are more controlled here and they're more structured.
So that is a few of the differences at Fortis, but we also try to follow an outpatient treatment model where our students are receiving academics. So they're learning from face-to-face teachers who are certified, but they're also receiving treatment and counseling throughout the school day. So that's something that's completely different that you wouldn't find at an average high school in Texas.
Magee: And how do these students respond to that counseling that they get in? I mean, I'm guessing they have to want sobriety to be admitted into the school. Is that correct?
Dr. Godfrey: Absolutely. So they have to show a commitment and they have to express that commitment to us that they're willing to take a chance on themselves and take a chance on us and start that recovery process. And so if they express that to us and they're sincere about that, that's how they get into our school.
So it doesn't matter how many times they've tried and relapsed, it doesn't matter how many behavior infractions they've had, we're looking for a fresh start here, so for a second chance or even a third or fourth chance here. And so as long as they're willing to take that chance with us, then we will admit students to our school.
Magee: Okay, I love that, but I'll try to phrase this like this. You gave a great answer, but I'm just thinking about, it's like me when I go to the dentist, I want good teeth, but I don't really like somebody poking on my teeth too much. So do you run into situations ... I mean, I know that they want sobriety, they're there, but sometimes we humans, accepting that counseling and coaching is not easy. I certainly would imagine in a high school setting you encounter the myriad of emotions and one day doesn't feel like ... So how do you work through that process? How do you meet students where they are?
Dr. Godfrey: I guess a simple answer to that would be we really follow a restorative process. And so for us, we want to meet the students where they are. And quite frankly, there are students sometimes who are not that interested in receiving the counseling or who are not active participants in counseling. So we do have group counseling as well as individual counseling.
Some of our group counseling is facilitated by peers. And so sometimes that helps a lot where students are seeing, I'm not the only one, but there's someone who's leading this process who looks like me, who's my age, who has my interest. And so in using that restorative process, students can talk when they're ready, they have the ability to pass. That's one of our big things, if you're not comfortable and you're not ready yet, we understand that.
So one of our guidelines is that you always have the opportunity to pass. If you're not comfortable, we can move on to the next person, but we want you there at least listening and absorbing some of the information and knowing that you're not alone and you're not the only one. So it's not always about what they're saying, sometimes it's about what they're hearing and what others are sharing that will rub off on them. And when they get to that comfort level, they will open up.
So you said something earlier about students wanting to have that one person or that relationship. So we know that our students have dealt with a lot of trauma and some of that is the driving force in their substance misuse. So we really try to focus on counter ACEs.
And what that means to us is we focus on relationships and really building that rapport with students so they can have that trust with us. Because a lot of times with these students, they've heard people say, "I'm going to be there for you. I'm going to do this for you," and that hasn't panned out for them. So they are a little bit apprehensive. So we have to earn their trust. So we know that that's a two-way street and we're transparent and upfront about that.
Magee: So when students, they come to the high school, they're participating, they're getting counseling, but they have to go back home, or they get to go back home. It depends on the situation, right?
Dr. Godfrey: Mm-hmm, it depends.
Magee: I don't mean that. It depends on the situation. But I'm guessing, just like for so many of us, family has such a critical role. Is there any components where families are kept in the loop of this, are brought into this situation? How do you approach the family with your students in recovery?
Dr. Travita Godfrey:
So upon the initial enrollment, we meet with the family together and then we split them. So we're meeting with the parents or the guardians, and we're meeting with the students separately so we can assess what their needs are individually and as a family.
So we work with our parents through parent workshops, which we do in person and we do virtually because we really want to focus on parents understanding that cycle and the process of addiction. It's hard being a parent and looking at your student not doing well. It's hard to see, I'm doing well for a couple of days and then I might regress. So we really try to help parents understand that that process is not always going to be a linear process, and that it is a learning curve, and it is the journey of not just the student but the parent.
So we provide support in the form of workshops, we have dinners, we have movie nights. We have activities that our parents and students can participate in together as a family because we know sometimes just based on circumstances, some of those family relationships have been broken, the trust has been broken. And so what we try to do is build that up as much as possible and we do that by really responding to the needs of not just the family as a whole, but those individuals that are a part of that family.
Lee: That's so good. And I love what you said of, recovery's not a linear upward hill. It's not always going to be good days and bad days. And so I'm assuming, and correct me if I'm wrong, that there are probably some students in your school who maybe have relapsed or had really bad days. What happens when they do relapse or they go back and misuse alcohol or drugs or whatever that is?
Dr. Godfrey: That's a great question. And for us in the beginning, we let students know that we do test them every 30 days. So that information is not to be used in a punitive manner, it's not to be reported to anyone. It's just for our purposes of learning. And so they will commit to doing that upon enrollment, so we really get that commitment and buy-in from them in the beginning.
And so before we test students, we have a conversation and we talk and we get the students to let us know, "Hey, this is probably not going to be a test that's going to come up where everything is a negative. I'm going to show some positives in this test." And so for us, that transparency and that honesty is more important than us punishing a student for relapse because we know that that's going to happen. But we also have to teach them to get to that point where they're not hiding things, where they're being open and honest so that they can understand the things that trigger them and they can get better.
So before, we don't just go into a cold test, we have a conversation. I may say, "Hey, what are we going to see today on the test?" Or, "What do you think your outcome of this test will be today?" And I will tell you, 99.9% of the time, they are honest with me. But I do let them know, I'm not reporting this to anyone. Sure, I'm going to talk to your family about it because that's your support system. When we talk about that recovery capital, that's part of your support system. And so they need to know how they can help you and how they can support you and what things at home may need to change to really prolong or support this recovery.
Magee: Do you have a relationship with each of the students at some level in the school?
Dr. Godfrey: Oh, absolutely. I'm there in the mornings. I'm there in the evenings. I'm there at lunch. Sometimes I've prepared a special little lunch for them. I make snacks for them.
Magee: Oh, come on. What do you make for lunch? I mean, I need to know.
Dr. Godfrey: So I will make for them, it's a croissant and it has ham and cheese on it, and I'll fry up the croissant, which is great. And we'll have a little bit of soup that goes with that. They love that. I also am a great barista, and so I make caramel frappuccinos, mocha frappuccinos, and I also make a little punch that they love with sherbet and ginger ale.
Lee: Ooh.
Magee: Stop it. David and Alexis will be at Fortis Academy at 2:30 tomorrow for our afternoon croissant and coffee.
Dr. Godfrey:
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Magee: That kind of engagement of being there with them, you think of the model that we ... I'm not making any political statement about how we ... I'm making a statement that's empathetic toward our young people. We in this country for some reason decided that we could punish students out of using drugs as if they're making this moral choice and addiction is a moral choice rather than a disease. We know better than that now.
And frankly, I'll tell you, I tried to punish my children when they were in middle school and high school out of using substances the same way my parents tried to punish me for drinking. It didn't work. It did not work. What you are talking about is a proactive model of, we care for you, we're going to give you tools to succeed to fight against this disease, and we're also going to give you some compassion.
And it's really inspiring because I saw your face when you light up talking about delivering them frappuccino or sandwiches. But sometimes, Dr. Godfrey, there are times that separation must take place. And in a recovery high school, what are the grounds for that? Do students ever reach that point?
Dr. Godfrey:
We have had students that have had to return to their district, and it was just based on what the district felt. So again, we're talking about a paradigm shift. So our students are not perfect, we know that coming to us. So there will be sometimes where they need redirection. And so that type of information is given back to their district because we're obligated to provide progress information back to them.
And so sometimes there may be an infraction where a district might say, "You know what? You've done all that you could. It's time for us to take care of this one. This one is going to require a different model. So we're going to look at doing something different." And we have to respect that from those districts. But for us, we haven't had an infraction that was severe enough to send a student back to their district.
Magee: Wow.
Dr. Godfrey: Yeah. Typically, when a student comes here, they really understand what's happening, and I will say a lot of that is due to the students that are currently here. So when a new student comes in, they embrace that student, even if it's hard in the beginning. There may be a student that may be a little standoffish, but they will say things like, "Hey, we don't do that at Fortis." Or, "This is how we do things at Fortis."
And so they've bought into the Fortis philosophy and into our way of doing things and they share that with students. And we really are like a family, and again, that's by design because we are small. And so we really think of each family as our Fortis family, we really do.
Lee: That's so good. And I have just a question of when students come to the high school, is it after they've been in treatment, is it before they've been in treatment? How or where along their path do they land at Fortis or is it different for each student?
Dr. Godfrey: It is different for each student. We don't have a requirement that our students have attended residential treatment. And that's because a lot of the students that we service are inner city because we're Houston and many of them don't have the means to a attend a long-term residential facility.
Many of them sometimes are afraid to reach out to those facilities because we may have some students that are undocumented, and so they're not comfortable with anyone having that level of access to them or to their information or to their child. So they're a little apprehensive.
But we have gotten students from residential treatment facilities. We've gotten students who may have just been expelled from school, maybe because they had drugs on campus, which we know is zero tolerance in the public high school. And we may have just gotten a referral from a student, there's been no behavior infractions. The student's attending school, but somebody's noticed that things are just not quite right, and they know that that student has a substance misuse issue, and so they will refer them to our campus. So there's many different ways. There's not one set path that we see for our students.
Lee:
You are listening to The Mayo Lab Podcast with David Magee. Now back to the episode.
Magee:
So Dr. Godfrey, when we talk about ... First of all, when you mention this peer-to-peer work, that's something we talk about in The William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing in our Mayo Lab a lot. Alexis and I get to work with some students that we're helping train to be peer-to-peer storytellers and educators because the research is really clear.
There's an old saying, I think teens get teens on drugs and teens can get teens off drugs is how it used to be said. I think now it's that peer-to-peer education and support and role modeling really has a dramatic impact. And what you described at Fortis Academy, I'm telling you, gave me chill bumps.
And it makes me think though, here you are running Fortis Academy in the Houston metro area, a recovery high school. And over the past year, I have been blessed to be invited to speak at public schools and private schools throughout the country. I'll be, in a couple of weeks, up in Maryland. I was just down in mid-Mississippi and I've probably gotten to engage with 15, 20,000 students in the past year.
And what I find is no matter what level of funding of the schools, a very well-endowed private school or a small public school that's barely making ends meet, I find they're all looking for answers of how do we meet teens and support them around mental health and substance misuse in particular.
What are we missing? What are we missing with this model? What are you learning because you're at ground zero with people who want recovery. What message do you have for educators? What message do you have for parents, because there's a lot that will listen to this podcast? What do we need to do in our schools?
Dr. Godfrey: I would say probably the first thing is not be afraid. I know that sounds a little bit different, but don't be afraid to embrace what's going on. Come out of the denial and understand that it doesn't matter who the student is, it doesn't matter who the parents are, it doesn't matter what the school is, some students will have this issue. And we can't fear it, we can't push it under the rug. We have to embrace it and really understand what's happening and be open to that.
And again, like I said, it's really a paradigm shift for public education to really understand, looking at this like we would anything else. So it's not an idea of punishment, it's an idea of learning and getting better and understanding that that person, if we want that person to become a productive citizen, a person who's out in the world doing great things, then we have to give them the tools to do that. We have to teach them to do that.
And so we don't just push them to the side, we get down there with them and we embrace that and we give them that empathy and we feel what they're feeling. We feel that pain because that's what it is. For most of our students, there's a pain and there's a hurt, and we have to figure out where that's coming from. And we can't be afraid as educators or even as parents to hear where that's coming from.
And I think sometimes that's where our parents are, they don't want to know the source of that hurt because they feel like that may be something that's negative on them or that may be something that's negative on my counselor or my teacher or my school. No, it's a hurt there, and we all have these feelings and we're going to have these feelings for the rest of our lives. And so we just have to teach our students how to really manage those feelings.
Magee: So there are other recovery high schools in Texas, I believe.
Dr. Travita Godfrey: Mm-hmm. Yes.
Magee: I think I said earlier there's maybe 40 around the country. Most of those are private. So there's only a handful that are public recovery high schools.
Dr. Godfrey: That's right. That's right.
Magee: So you work at a very special place in the Houston metro area. Do you get the chance to liaison with other leaders, principals at recovery high schools? Or is it just so much in, there's not enough of them around the country to get the chance to do that?
Dr. Godfrey: Well, we actually have an opportunity at the Recovery conference that happens annually to see all of the principals that are the Association for Recovery of Higher Ed and also the Association of Recovery High Schools. There's a joint conference that happens, and that's when we all get to see each other. So that's a great time because we're so far apart and we're spread so far out.
However, I will say someone who I always have access to is Sasha from Archway. So Archway is a private recovery school in Texas. And the principal there, I definitely have access to her, look to her as a mentor for sure, because we've only been open for four years, and Archway's been around for a long time. So I definitely have access to someone close by.
Magee: I've heard about Archway and I've heard she's quite an extraordinary leader, and I could completely see that. So tell me about, there's other programs, culinary arts.
Dr. Godfrey: Oh, yes.
Magee: So tell me about ... It's not just you cooking up the goods, you got some students doing the same thing.
Dr. Godfrey: Yeah. So we have culinary arts therapy is what we call it. And so within our program, students are able to create amazing things, but it's not necessarily about the creation all the time. Again, it's a learning process. So they're learning about nutrition, they're learning about healthy foods, and they're also learning even about managing money.
So within our program, our chef will have students go out to grocery stores, she will teach them how to shop, how to find the best deals, but we also look at what's good for your body? What can we do for your family? These are meals that we're teaching you, not just to prepare for yourself, but also share what you're learning with your families.
And so our chef will pick a chef of the week, and that student gets to come up, that student gets a budget, they get to figure out what they want to cook as far as their meal. They have a number of people that they're going to invite. So they make everything from the food to the invitations. They do the table, they set the table, they do the grocery shopping. So this is all their meal. So she's teaching them to do all of that.
And we invite our partner districts. So if our student chef of the week is from one of our partner districts, we will invite them to come out and celebrate with the student, celebrate what they've learned, what they've created.
But we also have the opportunity to do some things outside of Fortis. And so we have a mini catering business, and that provides our students the opportunity of course to learn client relations, customer service skills, and even managing their anger sometimes when they're dealing with clients and customers on that level, managing their time as well. So they do great things.
We recently had a catering job to create gourmet popcorn. So there was a conference this past weekend in Marble Falls, Texas, and they hired us to put together 200 bags of gourmet popcorn. So our students came up with ... They wanted a pink and black, and so they created this root beer flavored popcorn and cotton candy popcorn. So it was very delicious. So the students work from beginning to end.
They also get food handler and food manager certification through our program.
Lee: Wow. And-
Dr. Godfrey: So it's wonderful.
Lee: That is so fun. And I think you said something about you have a dog on campus too.
Dr. Godfrey: Yes.
Lee: And what other things do you offer your students? I mean, this like is a full-fledged, like I want to go back to high school.
Dr. Godfrey: It's great. So we have Blake, and Blake is a standard poodle and she's our therapy dog. So she's been certified through AKC. She's our therapy dog and she comes on campus three days a week and she works with students. So we talked about some of those students who might be apprehensive and they may not necessarily want to verbally express what they're feeling, but a lot of times they'll say, "Hey, can I come and sit with Blake?" So she has a little play area and they can come and sit with her, they can cuddle with her, they'll take her for a walk. Some of them will take her outside and play a game of fetch with her.
But one of the great things that we did around Blake and the dog was we brought in the trainer to actually work with our students and our staff members to really get them to understand how to manage having an animal and having a pet and things that we should be doing and shouldn't be doing with the animals, so that was very helpful, anywhere from how to give her a treat to how to make her behave or to sit. So all of our students were all using the same commands, which is great.
So we were able to do that. And now with our students and their own pets, they've learned a little bit of training for their own pets. And then of course, the parents love it when they come by and they can see Blake. She is a beautiful dog. She's a black standard poodle, and she's very sweet, very sweet.
But we also have equine therapy. So we don't have the horses here on campus. Our students go to an off-campus site and they get equine therapy once a week. So that's through horsemanship, whether that's through bathing and grooming the horse to riding the horse. So they learn all of those different things throughout the school year.
Lee: I'm sure parents listening to this, and I'm not a parent, so I'm going to assume right now, that they're like, these all sound like great opportunities for our students, and I wish I could give these to my students, but maybe they don't have access to it, they can't. What tools would you say for students or for parents or their guardians that they could use in the day-to-day and every day for students maybe that are struggling?
Dr. Godfrey: I would definitely say make sure that you're paying attention to what's going on with your student and use the resources that you have around you. Even though I mentioned we have these large Texas high schools, there are counselors there, there are administrators there, and they have a wealth of resources. So reach out to them, but not just them, even talking to your family doctor or your pediatrician, if you still have a pediatrician.
A lot of times, especially here in Texas, we use some of the same assessments that are used in the medical field. So we are using that same language and we can talk back and forth. So reach out to your family doctor or your pediatrician, reach out to your school counselor and ask for those resources.
If you see your student struggling, don't wait two months to get an appointment, have your school counselor just reach out, have that administrator reach out. And most of the time they can give you some resources or they themselves are resources and they can talk to your student in the interim until you can get something more long-term set up.
Magee:
So one thing, Dr. Godfrey, what I hear from parents a lot is we parents just want the best for our children. And so often when they get into recovery, as you noted, recovery is not just this straight line up. It's often fits and starts and that's just the way it works.
And parents, I find they'll come to me often if their child has relapsed and of course they're frustrated, and of course they feel the pain all over again. But what I always try to remind them, it is that every moment is a new beginning and that if you believe in your child and you continue to provide that support, their odds of finding success go way up.
But I'm guessing that when you have a student that falters who wants recovery, that's why they're in the recovery high school to begin with, I'm guessing there sometimes are a lot of tears and a lot of pain between you, the other counselors and teachers at the school. How do you deal with those situations when you have a student relapse?
Dr. Godfrey:
I try to tell myself I'm the co-pilot on this journey, and so I try not to internalize all of those things. And so I'm the co-pilot and the student is really leading this journey. And I think even when I'm driving home on the freeway, I may hit a pothole, I may even have an accident. There are things that I don't know that that stuff is going to come up, and so I can't necessarily control that.
And so this is the same thing. This is one of those things. I can't control a person, but I can provide the tools. I can help build the skills. And I can be a soft place for them to land, a safe place for them to land, but I can't fly the plane for them. And so that's what I think, this is your journey, and I want them to advocate and understand how they can make their journey the best for them.
So it is hard. I mean, it's definitely hard to see that because you know that they're hurting. And so I think for me, it's trying to really solve what the problem is because yes, the substance misuse is a problem, but that's not the root problem. So really looking at what I'm doing and investigating more and trying to get to what is the root of the issue and really trying to solve that problem.
Magee: And then more times than not, that kind of caring and that kind of work takes hold and you get to celebrate with students who not only reach graduation and sobriety, they graduate, you have some going to college and fulfill dreams that they wouldn't otherwise.
Dr. Godfrey: Absolutely. I mean, one of our greatest success stories thus far is one of our students who's been admitted to the University of Houston. I mean, this student has come a long way. He's been at Fortis Academy for some time. He had been with us for over two years, and he really struggled. And he was one of those students who would have relapse after relapse. And then it was just, he had this moment where he said, "I want better for myself and I really need you to help me. It's going to be a day-by-day process." And so he did that and it wasn't without struggle. It wasn't easy, but he finally got to this point.
And so he's going to be a college student, which for our students is amazing for several reasons. One of them is that many of our students haven't attended school on a regular basis. And so we know there might be an issue with GPA and rank and different things like that because we're a different type of school. There may be issues or gaps in their learning, so we really have to fill those things in. But if a student works hard enough, we can work equally hard with them and we can get them over that hump. And so we are so proud of him.
But one other thing that Harris County does really well and I appreciate, for our students, they offer internships. And so what that means is, if we have seniors who are graduating and they're interested in going into the workforce right after high school, what we do is we have them intern with one of the divisions in Harris County, and upon graduation, they receive a full-time job with benefits.
And we know if they're not having to struggle with work, they're not having to struggle financially, they're not having to struggle with healthcare that that will help their success rate go up. And so the student that I'm speaking about, he actually received a full-time job working in our records department.
And so that was a huge turning point for him. He interned during his senior year, and when he graduated, he was granted full-time employment. Now he's enrolled at University of Houston, and he's participating in work study. So he no longer works for Harris County, but he does have a job still. He's doing work study at University of Houston.
Lee: Wow.
Dr. Godfrey: So we're very proud of that.
Magee: That is so incredible. So incredible. Dr. Travita Godfrey, principal at Fortis Academy in the Houston metro area, that's the Harris County Department of Education, we're so thankful you joined us. But before you go, I just need to say this, we're launching the Mayo Lab Podcast, and it's a place for educators, for parents, and for people throughout America who care about the wellbeing of our students today to come.
And I must say, I don't want to embarrass you, but you really have a gift. And I hope that listeners will make note of Dr. Travita Godfrey, as you look at panelists, as we begin to dive into this wellbeing conversation. We're just so honored to be able to bring you on. And thank you for joining us on the Mayo Lab Podcast.
Dr. Godfrey: Well, I appreciate you. And thank you so much for bringing awareness to our school. Thank you. I appreciate that.
Magee: Thank you.
Lee: Thank you for joining us on this episode of The Mayo Lab Podcast. The Mayo Lab Podcast is produced by Dr. Natasha Jeter, Dr. Meagen Rosenthal, David Magee, Alexis Lee, and Slade Lewis. This podcast was recorded at Broadcast Studio in Oxford, Mississippi. The show was mixed and mastered by Clay Jones, and our original music was composed by Slade Lewis. The Mayo Lab Podcast is brought to you by The William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing.
For more information on The Mayo Lab, head over to themayolab.com and follow us on social media, @themayolab. If you enjoyed listening to The Mayo Lab Podcast with David Magee, we need your help. Tell others about it, and we'd love for you to subscribe, rate, and give us a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you are listening to this podcast.
This podcast represents the opinions of David Magee and guests of the show. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for the medical advice of a licensed counselor or a physician. The listener should consult with their mental health professional in any matters relating to his or her health, or the health of a child.