FEAT URED
"Community- Oriented." I am a college senior studying criminal justice and sociology. Growing up, I had no choice but to go wherever my mom went, and she was active in the community, which made me community-oriented. I became involved within my community at a very young age. Growing up, I was a part of the minority, and I’m not talking about race. I had very overprotective parents and a village. Although I lived in the inner city, I didn’t quite live the inner city lifestyle. I experienced the hood from the outside looking in, and I had a different childhood and mindset setting me aside from my peers. I participated in dozens of youth-based organizations, including the Philadelphia Community Youth Court, where I served as the first female judge, youth advocate (Lawyer), & intake coordinator. Our mission is to mentor our peers to change their thinking in order to change their behaviors, to help eradicate the school-to-prison pipeline, and address issues that affect youth by the law, restorative practices, and from the youth perspective. I’ve indirectly experienced inner-city violence. I’ve had schoolmates and friends killed in the streets and incarcerated. I felt the need to take action, so I, along with South Phila Jr Stakeholders, initiated “Philly Youth Speak Up,” a traveling nonviolence youth forum focused on finding the root causes of violence committed by youth. That’s when I realized that most youth that look like me have experienced some form of trauma, poverty, brokenness, and a failed system. I set my short-term goals on making a difference, becoming a part of the solution and addressing disparities within the system, and my long-term goals are becoming a lawyer and law advocate. As soon as I could vote, I voted and advocated for my peers and their parents to vote. Electing civil servants and officials into office that will introduce laws that will bridge the gap and address those disparities was just as important as electing the president.
30
May/June 2021