Alissa Hamberg once saw school — and herself — as a lost cause.

Her grades fell during her junior year in a conventional school, she struggled to make friends and her life felt like it was spiraling out of control.

Sitting through the typical 30 to 35 hours of classes each week just didn’t work.

“I thought I was just gonna drop out of school and figure it out from there. I thought I was going nowhere,” she said. “I was just ready to throw the towel in.”

But on Thursday evening, as Hamberg walked across the stage at CSI Charter School in Penacook in a deep plum graduation robe, she felt that everything had changed.

After transferring from Merrimack Valley High School to CSI Charter, where students attend just nine hours of school a week, Hamberg finally found her footing in an alternative learning environment.

In that space, she began to thrive.

“I guess public school is not for everyone,” she said. “It showed me that there’s not one ‘normal’ way to live or to do school and get by. There are always other options, and what I’m presented with is not what I have to accept.”

Not only did Hamberg receive her diploma on Thursday, but she was also recognized with an award for academic excellence. She was one of 17 graduates celebrated that evening, as more than 150 friends and family members packed into the gym, cheering and applauding every name called.

Like Hamberg, many of them had struggled in the traditional school system and found a fresh start at CSI.

For Travis Kellar, the school offered something even more vital: time.

With his 10-year-old sister battling cancer, Kellar needed flexibility to support his family.

CSI’s condensed schedule allowed him to be there when it mattered most. He could work, go to school and still have enough time to go back home and take care of his sister while his mother worked.

“I kind of stepped in as a third parent, almost, and helped out a bunch with the family,” said Kellar. “It hit everything really hard. It changed the way that we had to live drastically for a while.”

On graduation night, Kellar’s entire family showed up to celebrate, including his younger sister.

He now plans to pursue a career in nursing, and he hopes to enroll in the Licensed Nursing Assistant program at Concord Hospital.

As for Hamberg, CSI didn’t just change her academics — it transformed her entire life.

Her relationship with her mother had become strained while she was in a conventional school. Hamberg said she often resisted going to school, while her mom pushed her to go.

“I would shut her out. I wouldn’t talk to her,” she said. “Now I’m telling her everything about my day and all the progress I was making.”

Being at CSI has helped her rediscover a love for learning, said Hamberg.

It’s also given her the flexibility to work at Walmart, use the school gym to stay active and improve her mental health.

“It’s given me my independence,” said Hamberg. “I felt like I was doing it for me.”

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakr ishnan@cmoni tor.com