Meet Madyson, One of Our Amazing Clients

Anxiety triggered by crowded, noisy halls made attending Roxbury High School untenable for honor student Madyson. “I was struggling to even walk in the building,” Madyson said.

She withdrew in October 2023 and enrolled in NewBridge JobsPlus. The atmosphere at the alternative education and career program was welcoming and calm, the 17-year-old said.

Madyson benefited from the life and job skills training, becoming more self-confident and comfortable around others. Alyssa was astonished when her daughter participated in a mock interview.

Named NewBridge JobsPlus’ 2024 Associate of the Year, Madyson enrolled at County College of Morris in summer 2024 to study animation. (JobsPlus helped her secure a scholarship.) Her mother said she is thriving and shared this anecdote:

Madyson’s instructor for media aesthetics made a deal with the class: anyone earning an A on assessments could skip the final exam. Short one point, she mustered the courage to explain she had misunderstood a question. On the spot, the instructor had her answer it. She got her A.

“Madyson is a different kid from what she was before,” Alyssa said. “What NewBridge JobsPlus gave her — and gave us — is life-changing.”

The Roxbury resident first showed symptoms of anxiety at age 9, soon after her twin brother, Matthew, was diagnosed with brain cancer, and she later developed anorexia. Madyson is managing both disorders well, and her brother is cancer-free.