Staff photo / Ed Runyan Graduates of the Flying High Professional Development Center turned to where family and friends were seated and thanked them with applause for helping them complete their training program.

YOUNGSTOWN — It’s safe to say that some of the 49 people who graduated from Flying High’s Professional Development Center Thursday were among the most grateful people at any graduation ceremony this year.

The annual ceremony was held in the Flying High offices at 6 West Federal Street, formerly known as the Chase Building. The center awarded credentials for graduating from programs in Chemical Dependency Counselor Associate, Certified Nursing Assistant, carpenter and welder.

Two of the CDCA graduates were brought to tears as their gratitude overflowed for the opportunity they now have to overcome the challenges of their past and use their education to start anew.

“My journey here has not been easy, nor has it been perfect,” Tanicqwa Wilkerson said of the CDCA program she completed. “It was worth giving up my old life for what I want my new life to be.”

She said the program “has opened my eyes and my heart to opportunity and hope. Today I feel inspired, and I feel hopeful. I feel important, and I feel appreciated. My CDCA license will allow me to afford those things to others. It will allow me to be the best me for my family and my community,” she said.

“This is the time to give back to the community what I have taken from it, and I have taken a lot,” she said. She became too emotional to talk for about a half a minute then continued, “I have made many attempts to make changes for myself over the past few years, and I felt like nothing was happening for me.”

But when she began her training, “I really started to see doors opening and the light at the end of the tunnel. They were not just here for me. They are here for you. They are here for the community,” she said. “I am so very grateful to be here.”

Among the people she thanked were Jeff and Donna Magada for creating Flying High and the Professional Development Center and Etta Huff, the instructor for her training program, “for encouraging me when I felt weak and I didn’t have any confidence and she made sure I kept going.”

Huff also introduced another grateful graduate, Deon Reed, who also completed the CDCA program. He was one of several people who thanked God, their family and Flying High.

“I’m a recovering addict,” he said. “My clean day is 4-3-22,” he said. “I’ve got a new life now.” Then he explained that he wanted to start in the CDCA program earlier but found out he had cirrhosis of the liver, “And I would get wheeled out of the sober living home in an ambulance once or twice a week sometimes.”

In July 2023, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic “came in my room and told me and my mother that I was probably going to die,” he said. He left the hospital but later got a call from the Cleveland Clinic, and he was told, “We found a match for your liver.” And he had the liver transplant.

“Long story short, this is such a great day for me,” he said. “I accepted death, and I’m so grateful to be here. After my surgery, the nurse came into my room, and the lady said, ‘You are so lucky.

“There were a thousand people waiting on that liver, and they gave it to me. And I asked God why me? Now today, I stand here and I understand the assignment. It is to deliver the message of hope, the (Narcotics Anonymous) message that any addict can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use and find a new way to live,” he said.

“Our message is hope, and our promise is freedom because this is a great day. I appreciate all of you,” he said looking at the side of the room where all of the staff of Flying High were seated.

Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board Associate Director Brenda Heidinger was the Keynote speaker.

Jeff Magada, founder and director of Flying High and its Professional Development Center, introduced her and thanked her for her “dedication to the people in recovery in Mahoning County and how consistent she has been over the years in trying to help them.” Magada said Heidinger has always provided him and others with “wise counsel.”

Heidinger’s talk also revealed a success story of her own.

“When Jeff called me and asked me to speak today, my first response was ‘Oh, please no. Don’t make me talk.’ But here is what I am going to give you as inspiration. While they are not words of wisdom, they are words of how I landed here.

“Twenty-two years ago, I got a job with the alcohol and drug board as the receptionist and secretary. It was just a job, and it fell into a passion. So my key takeaways are these: “Always fall into your passion. Figure out what that passion is. For me, it is ensuring that people living in recovery from addiction or mental health have the ability to live their best life.”

She told the new graduates, “Show up curious. When you get that first job, show up curious. Have 10,000 questions about how this works and what’s the best way to do it, how am I going to get through this and how am I going to make things better.”

She said to find a mentor.

“Find somebody in the organization — probably the person who has been there quite a while, the person your boss goes to for help when things go wrong,” Heidinger said.

“If it’s construction, maybe it’s the crew lead. Maybe it’s the owner if you are working with a small group.” She said, “Find that person who is going to answer your questions, who is going to tell you why they do things the way they do because they are going to be your growth vehicle.”

She said it’s also important to “Step outside of your comfort zone. That’s where I am at today,” Heidinger said of her public speaking to the graduates. “Find the thing that makes you a little nervous. And that mentor will have prepared you and will be encouraging you to go do it when they know you are ready.

“And you are going to be willing and able to step out. Everyone who spoke mentioned their instructors, mentioned the mentors who have shown them through this program.

“They are the people you look to each time because they are the people who will give you the strength to say ‘OK, you can talk at that graduation today. You have a good story,’ and step outside of your comfort zone,'” she said.