ASN17 Shining Star Awards

Khaliah Corbin: Khaliah Corbin is an awesome young lady! It’s difficult to put into words what makes her a Shining Star, but some of the reasons that stand out the most are her resilience and her leadership. Khaliah originally came to Elks as a Crisis Continuum 30-day placement, however she was such a positive presence that when the time came to move on and leave us, we couldn’t let her go! Khaliah advocated for herself so well and she worked so hard on her goals and overcoming things from her past that her value in our program was worth keeping. We were quickly able to see that those strong traits that enabled her to fight to stay in our program also made her a great peer leader. She is compliant almost always, knows what her goals are and does what it takes to achieve them, and if ever redirection is needed, she’s receptive without a fight; the other girls notice, and she’s able to inspire them to want to do the same. Khaliah Corbin makes us all proud at Elks, and she’s the kind of resident that we not only want to brag about, but that we know will go on to do great things! For this reason she is one of Elks Aidmore’s brightest Shining Stars!

Mercedes High: Mercedes is a 17 year old African American female who came into foster care in September of 2012. Mercedes has worked really hard to overcome her unfortunate circumstances of being placed away from her siblings, and dealing with the recent loss of a close family member. Mercedes has learned how to adapt in uncomfortable situations, as well as use her coping skills when she becomes upset.

Mercedes has also done a wonderful job advocating for herself in regards to her medical and dental needs as well as learning to incorporate independent living skills such as managing her money. She does well in school, making As and Bs. She has become an active member of Empowerment, a member of the Georgia Youth Leadership Academy, and a participant in the Georgia TeenWork Internship Program. Mercedes has previously worked in a senior citizen home, and has dreams of pursuing a career in that field. She currently works on campus at her current placement. She also enjoys writing and cosmetology.

Shannon Johnson: Shannon is a beautiful Star. She has participated in Teen Parent Connection for over 6 years. During that time I have witnessed Shannon grow, blossom, and shine. Shannon is a young mother to a beautiful and very smart 6 year old little girl, Kennedy. When Shannon initially enrolled in TPC I wasn’t her Life Coach. Therefore I was able to observe her from a distance during our parenting groups. I watched Shannon interact with the other young mothers in the program and her daughter, and I would think to myself, this young lady has such leadership skills and is such a loving mother. I would always ask her Life Coach at the time how is she coming along in the program, because she is destined to do great things. Now don’t get me wrong, Shannon wasn’t always the easiest teen to work with but what teen is all the time?

When I eventually became Shannon’s Life Coach over 3 years ago, she taught me while I coached her. She was willing to learn and work on being a better mother and a great student as she prepared for adulthood. I always tell my teen moms, they inspire me, because they have so many stumbling blocks they are forced to face at such a tender age. Let’s think about it; Shannon becomes a mother just a week after her 15th birthday, she is brought into foster care, where she is faced with raising her child with minimal family support, all while still attending high school and trying to be a very active mother for her daughter. Like all first time moms she is learning along the way, but she feels scrutinized by a system that watches her closely, with the real or implied threat that if she makes a mistake, she could lose her precious daughter. Shannon’s daughter was placed in care at birth at birth due only to the fact that Shannon was in custody. Can we say CHALLENGES? Yet Shannon handled them all and learned from them.

During her time with TPC Shannon experienced many great firsts. She graduated high school at the top of her class, enrolled in college, bought her first car, with support through the IDA program and is now living in her own apartment. Shannon faced many obstacles during her journey, but she doesn’t let them hold her back.

Shannon has expressed she wants to be the best mom she can be to her daughter. She wants to be a positive influence on Kennedy and show her that anything is possible with hard work, self-confidence and understanding that you can’t do it all alone. Shannon is currently an active member of EmpowerMEnt. She wants to advocate for other teen moms and help them understand there is positive support in the community. She is passionate about the issue of Moms in care maintaining custody of their children. I am very proud of the young woman Shannon is becoming and honored to be her Life Coach. This is why I nominate her as MAAC Youth Shining Star.

Brittany Myers: I am writing to nominate Brittany Myers, whom I have known for three years, for A Starry Night 2017 Youth Shining Star award. Brittany joined Georgia EmpowerMEnt in 2014, speaking at panels about her juvenile justice experience and how advocacy from her adult supporters helped her become an excellent mother and overall powerful young lady. Since then Brittany joined the Youth Support team and has led state-wide advocacy efforts promoting peer to peer advocacy and youth involvement in juvenile justice reform.

Brittany is often considered to be shy and quiet, which she will describe as her demeanor as well, but when she speaks everyone listens because she is authentic, genuine, and intelligent. As her supervisor with Youth Support, I witnessed first-hand Brittany embodying the MAAC spirit of youth voice and choice and collaboration. She thinks everything through before asking for help and is never afraid to seek more guidance when things are unfamiliar. Brittany has stated that she often see herself in the young people she works with but can also appreciate the need for honesty and consistency even in herself when working with young people. Brittany is a shining star already and needs no awards; however, her growth and dedication are what makes her a valuable asset to the Initiative.

Chasity Smith: Chasity is a 17 year African American Female who came in to care at a very young age. She often joked she had been in every program at Youth Villages from the Children’s Program to the Group Home. Chasity came to live with her current foster family at her request when she was 14 years old. Since being in her Forever Home, she has made great progress but admits she is not perfect. Chasity attends Eastside High School and has excelled academically and turned out to be a gifted athlete in volleyball and basketball. Prior to enrolling at Eastside High School, Chasity had never had the opportunity play sports. Chasity has excelled in both sports, lettering in basketball her freshman year and in volleyball her sophomore year. Chasity has received numerous awards in both sports including: Junior Varsity most valuable player and the Varsity Eagles award in basketball and the Junior Varsity MVP award (2014/15), the 110% award (2015/16), and the Varsity MVP award (2016/17) in volleyball. In addition to this, Chasity and her school team were the 4AAAA Runner-Up of the 1st round of state playoffs in 2016. Chasity and the team were recognized and received a certificate and medal from Newton County’s Board of Education for their great achievements .Chasity also plays club volleyball and is described as a “Beast” on the volleyball floor. She received a bronze medal at the tournament level.

Chasity is currently in the 11th grade and on the A/B Honor Roll. She is a good student and is looking forward to attending college and is determine to meet her goals and strive for the best. In spite of all the challenges and hurdles that Chasity has had to face, she continues to push forward as she struggles to live a “normal” life and not be stigmatized by the fact that she is foster child. Chasity is determine to show everyone that her past does not predict her future, but has shaped her character such that she is a good leader and a strong individual who is determined to not allow her past to set limits on her future.

We are so proud of her!!!!

Shimaine Quimbley: I am recommending Shimaine Quimbley to be a shining star because in every essence of what it means to be a shining star, she is. Shimaine is an absolute dynamo! When passed the torch to lead the region 10 tribe, she rose to the challenge and has since hosted three meetings. Shimaine is also a member of both the courts team and the policy team, where she leads as a facilitator and presentor. She shared with me that Empowerment pushed her to be a better person on both a personal and professional level and that before joining the initiative she struggled to figure out what she liked. Shimaine is a hard worker, great student, and she's passionate about everything that she seeks and pursues.

Jessica Jacqmein: Jessica is a brightly shining star within Elks. When I met Jessica, she was struggling with controlling her behaviors and keeping her grades up. Jessica has improved greatly over the past 2 years that I have been working with her. She was struggling with resolving negative emotions related to her separation from her family but has grown to realize that being in foster care is just a part of her journey that makes her a stronger person. There was a great co-dependency with her mother and caused her to seek attention negatively. However, Jessica’s self perception has blossomed in such a way that she is increasingly conformable with self-soothing and being alone. It is evident that Jessica is fully confident in herself. The negative behaviors transferred over to the school setting. Jessica was attending a psycho ed program and was able to successfully step down and back into a full emerged classes and is getting A’s and B’s. We are extremely proud of Jessica and are looking forward to see her actualize her plans to live independently and attend a local college. Please select Jessica as a Shining Star to honor. She is fully deserving and I strongly think that this opportunity can further enhance Jessica’s journey through GA foster care.

ASN17 Shining Star Awards - Youth

Youth Shining Star Nominations

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