Life has presented me with challenges that could have easily defined my future, but God has given me strength to choose resilience over defeat. With immense gratitude in my heart, I want to share where I have been, where I am now, and where I hope to go next.
At the age of 12, I entered the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes at Herrington Homestead, stepping into 6th grade with no real educational background due to years of neglect. It is hard to express the struggle of trying to catch up to my peers, but I was determined. Day by day I worked, pushing through the academic gaps and self-doubt. Through many trials and tribulations, I graduated high school as an honor graduate, ranking 10th in my class. I even had the honor of speaking at my graduation, a moment I will never forget.
In August 2021, I began my undergraduate journey at Augusta University. Throughout my college years, I encountered profound personal loss and hardships. These challenges included working three jobs, the loss of two relatives, and the heartache of losing my father to COVID-19 just a week after my 19th birthday. Even on the day he passed, l attended class because I knew I could not afford to fall behind. Despite these struggles, I maintained a 3.98 GPA, proving to myself that I could excel even in the darkest of times.
Though I have faced many trials while in college, I have also experienced some of the happiest moments of my life. I found purpose in my work as a student assistant for the Hull College of Business and became the youngest Notary Public in Richmond County. I was selected for the prestigious Women’s Leadership Academy, graduated from the program, and had the honor to return as a peer mentor the following year. I was also inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society, which inducts the top ten percent of business students.
The summer of 2024, I began an internship at Savannah River Site in Supply Chain Management. I balanced a 40-hour work week, summer classes, and a second job. My hard work paid off when the company president offered to extend my internship and to hire me after I receive my Master of Business Administration (MBA).
In March of 2025, I was accepted into Augusta University’s MBA program. I proudly graduate Magna Cum Laude from James M. Hull College of Business this spring and begin my graduate program in the fall.
This year—and the past couple of years—have been a whirlwind, but I am incredibly grateful to the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes for their emotional, psychological, educational, and financial support. They have covered my college costs and will also pay for my future graduate school expenses, helping me achieve my dreams. If I were to list all the ways you have supported me, this would turn into a novel–one I hope to write someday.