A Breakthrough With My Mom
When I was 7, my mother said, “I’m going to America to give us a better life.” “Why?” I asked. In Jamaica, my dad worked for a gas company and owned a shop attached to our house where we sold basic items like bread, light bulbs, and combs. On Saturdays we sold patties, a kind […]
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Almost Derailed by the Pandemic
Last year I was in the spring semester of my junior year at Queens College when COVID-19 shut school down. At first, I was excited that I wouldn’t have to wake up early for class anymore. Then I found out I was getting kicked out of the dorm—which was my home. For the past three […]
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Life On My Own
Foster care was a pretty good experience for me. I came into care when I was 15, and was placed with a good foster mother, Blanca, right away. She helped me stay on track, and so did some of my foster care workers. My caseworker Candice Sparkman really motivated me: She was my agency mom. […]
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I Started a Peer Tutoring Program Just for Foster Youth
My family has always emphasized the importance of education. All three of my aunts are teachers, and my father has helped me with my schoolwork throughout my life. My dad enrolled me in a prep course for Hunter College High School, one of New York City’s specialized schools for students in grades 7-12. When I […]
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