When you talk with Eli, chances are he’ll ask you which is cooler, Batman or Superman.
Eli is a quiet high school senior, passionate about art and music. He plays clarinet in the high school marching band, loves discussing the artistic styles and story elements of Marvel and DC comics, and is truly a superhero himself. Eli has battled the villains of vision loss and dental pain all throughout his high school years, yet he still triumphed.
When he participated in a summer vision and dental screening with Healthy Learners, it was discovered he had 20/500 vision, meaning Eli saw something 20 feet away with the same clarity that a person with 20/20 saw 500 feet away – and he had never owned a pair of glasses. He also had 11 cavities, 5 of which were very serious and needed root canals.
Eli has had many sidekicks on his journey: his mom loves him deeply and is passionate about Eli’s educational success. She works in the school district. He also has had some amazing teachers who helped him along the way. However, with Eli being accepted at SC State University, he needed help confronting these villains his community struggled to address alone – all for his solo mission of succeeding in college.
Just like when Captain America and Iron Man teamed up, Healthy Learners joined Eli’s team to ensure he received corrective vision, coordinated care of his oral health, and radioed into Eli’s mom to ensure Eli could fly into the sunset, his villains conquered for good.
Eli is now ready to start his own origin story. At time of writing, he plans on getting a degree in early childhood education and becoming a teacher – unleashing a passion to serve students, inspire hope, and transform futures.
To help someone like Eli overcome health barriers to academic success, click here to make a gift and select Healthy Learners in the Designation option.