Where are they now? An update on 60 Minutes' story "Hard Times Generation"
The end-of-period bell is silent in schools from New York to California. Once-packed classrooms sit dormant. There will be no pomp for the graduating class of 2020, a circumstance of the coronavirus pandemic. The deadly COVID-19 virus has upended life in America, students included.
In April, more than 29 million Americans lost their jobs. The same month, the Department of Labor reported unemployment reached 14.7% in the U.S.
This is not the first time the country has endured prolonged economic turbulence.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the aftermath of the 1981-82 recession left the nation with an unemployment rate of 10% for ten consecutive months, and at its peak, the Great Recession put more than 15 million Americans out of work.
In 2011, as the nation began to recover from the Great Recession, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley reported on the struggle of some families trying to claw their way back into the workforce and regain financial stability.
For the story, "Hard Times Generation," Pelley met to Arielle and Austin Metzger in Seminole County, Florida. The 15-year-old girl and her 13-year-old brother were living with their father out of a truck he bought on Craigslist.
The teenagers saw education as an escape from homelessness.
"I wonder what education means to you two?" Pelley asked.
"It's everything," Austin responded.
"I mean, it is everything to us," Arielle added. "I plan to be a child defense lawyer. If I focus on my studies, I have that opportunity."
In the beginning of our report, Arielle is seen wearing a Stetson University shirt. After watching her story on 60 Minutes, the school offered her and Austin full scholarships to the university.
Life is different now for Arielle and Austin. Since our story aired, the siblings were adopted and changed their names to Autumn Hope Johnson and Aaron Matthew Johnson.
Autumn recently graduated from Stetson. Aaron is a sophomore studying digital arts at the university.
Nearly a decade after 60 Minutes first told her story, Tony Dokoupil spoke to Autumn for a story that aired on "CBS This Morning."
"Hard Times Generation" was produced by Robert G. Anderson and Nicole Young. In 2011, Nicole Young took 60 Minutes Overtime inside the story.
