4:36 p.m.

Coming up to the day she had been waiting for, 21-year-old Michelle Harrison didn’t realize what a big deal it was until she received a text message telling her how proud her father was of her.

After living on the streets in Costa Mesa, becoming addicted to drugs and going in and out of jail, Harrison graduated from the Orange County Conservation Corps on Friday with a high school diploma, a job, money for college and two years of sobriety under her belt.

“I never thought I was going to make it,” Harrison said. “You have to have faith. You have to have hope . . . I never thought I was going to make it, but I thank God every day.”

Her father, Gray Harrison, stepmother and grandfather came to the ceremony to celebrate with their daughter.

“It’s a big deal. I’m very proud of her,” said Gray Harrison, who bought a video camera specifically for the occasion. “I’m happy that she’s out of the situation that she was in and happy she got her diploma.”

Harrison was one of 42 young adults, the corps’ largest class to date, to graduate in front of about 400 guests at the Doubletree Hotel in Anaheim. The Orange County Conservation Corps is a nonprofit organization working to get young adults, 18 to 25 years old, off the streets and away from gangs and drugs by providing them with environmental-based jobs that benefit the community and classes through the John Muir Charter School to earn their diplomas.

“One of the principles we operate on is we aren’t here to help these young men and women,” said Max Carter, the corps’ executive director. “We are here to provide an opportunity for them to help themselves.”

The organization was founded in 1993 in Anaheim and has since graduated more than 260 young adults, Carter said. The members provide a variety of conservation services like clearing burnt trees, cleaning out sewer drains and picking up, sorting and recycling cans. One of the organization’s projects is through the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.

Corps members clear out weeds to reduce the fire hazard, sow indigenous plants to encourage fish and bird populations to inhabit the marine basin and clear out nonnative plants, said Kelly O’Reilly, an associate marine fisheries biologist with the state department of fish and game.

O’Reilly said the work is labor-intensive, but for graduate Brendan Murphey, physical labor gave him a sense of accomplishment.

“I enjoyed any hard work. It makes me feel like I’m actually earning my money,” Murphey said.

The 22-year-old Newport Beach resident worked with the crews cleaning out burnt trees, having used his two years in the corps to get certified with a chain saw, as well as in CPR and first aid and with Planned Parenthood. He also said he plans on being forklift-certified soon.

At the graduation ceremony, Murphey’s family cheered him on as he received his diploma. His father, David Baker, said it was the corps that gave his son hope in himself.

“I think it’s awesome. It motivates them. They take the people that have made mistakes . . . and give them a second chance,” Baker said.