Until recently, seeing Maly Hout hanging around the streets was not an uncommon sight. Then, something changed drastically. "I realized how dangerous and pointless my life was - so I changed it!"

Maly's brushes with trouble and violence all began at the age of 14. "Changing to a new high school with no friends was hard, so I just left! My mother forced me to return to a nearby high school and I was prepared to do anything to fit back in." Maly's new group of friends would often get mixed up with other local gangs. "I never initiated anything, but when something happened, you could bet that I'd be there for backup." Having friends who got into trouble with other gangs "made me get used to having eyes on my back" says 17 year-old Maly. "I was always missing school and my friends were getting mixed up with drugs." During most of this time Maly's parents and teachers really didn't have a clue what was happening, "they just thought I was going through a phase. School came so easily, so I stopped caring about it. I was just going to school to have fun." Maly's care free attitude towards everything started to drastically affect her relationship with her family. "We were always fighting because of how I acted and what I wore. I regret everything now."

After two years of seeing her life go downhill, Maly finally realized her potential. "I was tired of being afraid. I didn't want to have to live with eyes on my back anymore." This fear, in combination with some serious talks with those who cared for Maly, had a positive effect on her. "My parents and teachers just sat me down and made me realize what I could be. Plus, I was watching so many of my friends get hurt for nothing! It was so stupid! When my parents and teachers started to tell me about the way I used to be , I realized that I could change and I would have their support. Something started happening. I guess I was just sick of always being in trouble. I started drifting away from my friends and kept myself busy by getting extremely involved with different clubs and councils. Before I knew it I was responsible for running those very same councils!"

Since she changed, Maly has become the president of her school's athletic council; she is the vice-president of the students' council, has co-ordinated a prom and fashion show, will be travelling to Germany with the International Co-op program and has recently been accepted into a University of her choice under the Shad Valley program. On top of all this, Maly is also an honour roll student who is in the process of developing "specialty" programs that will deal with such things as promoting technology, literacy and leadership. Maly also likes to write poems and short motivational sayings like this one: "You are who you choose to be, and your feelings are inflicted upon you by no one other than yourself. If you choose to be successful you will be, and if you choose to be successful you are."