Antoine Hunter: Embracing a Lifechanging Program
By Barbara Kancelbaum
Twenty years ago, as a 15-year-old who had fallen behind in high school, Antoine Hunter was a typical participant in New Beginnings at Henry Street. Raised by his grandmother because his mom struggled with addiction, Antoine lacked male role models, which led to gang involvement and subsequent school suspensions. New Beginnings brought together the Department of Education and nonprofits to re-engage students like Antoine in high school.
Having lost two friends to gun violence, he knew that school was the key to saving his own life. At New Beginnings, Henry Street provided counseling and peer support, preparing Antoine to move into a school from which he could graduate. Most notably, it made school fun. There, he met Henry Street’s Matthew Phifer and Bonnie Masey, who, he says, created an environment that he cared about and that made him want more for himself. They remained role models, setting him on path to seeking mentorship at crucial points in his life.
“I know you can actually change a kid’s life if you’re there at the right time, because it happened to me.”
Antoine graduated on time and worked at Harlem Children’s Zone school before enrolling in Hostos Community College, where he set his sights on psychiatric nursing, with the aim of addressing young men’s mental health challenges. When an academic advisor told him about a Kaplan Educational Foundation program that could help him move toward a four-year degree, he applied.
Kaplan encouraged Antoine to apply to universities across the nation—in spite of his need to support his wife and three children. When Yale University in 2019 invited Antoine to apply to its program for people who had been out of high school for several years, he did so reluctantly.
Antoine was accepted to Yale with a full scholarship. His journey, however, was not easy. His first year, taken remotely due to the pandemic, allowed him to work a night shift at Bellevue Hospital. But when in-person class resumed, he stayed at the job, commuting from New Haven. Antoine did homework and slept on the train; he was often exhausted.
Upon graduation, he was accepted into the nursing master’s degree program at Yale. Now a registered nurse, he will graduate with his psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner certificate in two years.
If it hadn’t been for Henry Street, Antoine says, his life might have taken a different course. With the support he received, he’ll be able to care for people of all ages, but especially adolescents. He says, “I know you can actually change a kid’s life if you’re there at the right time, because it happened to me.”
This story was featured in Henry Street’s 2025 annual report, published in spring 2026.
To read our digital report, click here.
