The Journey Girl EmpowHERent Blog: Our First Journey Girl Goes to College!

Our First Journey Girl Goes to College!

Journey Girl (Brennetta) Goes to College!...

In her FIRST year at Clark Atlanta University.
We are SO #PROUD!...

Brennetta's Story...

Brennetta oldest (living) girl of 7 children. We met at a Domestic Violence shelter for women and children where I worked part-time as a Shelter Advocate / Counselor for the families that lived in the shelter. Her family just happened to “check in” on one of my first official nights on duty alone (I had only been there about two weeks). It was destiny.

She was entering the 10th grade. Her family had just relocated from Indiana to GA that night, attempting to escape a domestic violence situation from her biological father. New to the environment and the new living situation of [25 beds of other mothers and SCREAMING sisters and brothers – all much younger than she was], she was one of the oldest girl children at the shelter.

She kept to herself, mostly quiet, shut down, unloved, and with a faint cry of mental/emotional desperation and need for help. Her mother personally requested my help with getting her to open up and talk. She said to me, “I trust you to mentor my daughter” (even though I was a stranger, and among several other staff choices).

After a little time had passed, and she was finally ready to open up and talk to me. We hit it off instantly. I discovered (from her check-in) that she would be attending the local high school (which happened to be my alma mater). I assisted in getting her acquainted with attending a new school and her first year in high school here in GA.

We visited college fairs, college campuses, discussed scholarships, classes, boyfriends, high school drama, family, and after school clubs and events. We had conversations about teachers who were still teaching at the high school, etc.

During her 11th and 12th grade years, she and her family moved several times. She and I attempted to stay in touch via e-mail, Facebook, and telephone. After being separated for months , we finally were reconnected and achieved our main goal, which was to get her across that graduation stage.

Her mom said to me, “I notice a drastic change in her when you’re not around. Things just go downhill.” She graduated high school in May of 2012, applied to several colleges, and was recently accepted into my alma mater, Clark Atlanta University.

She was offered a position for her first just (within the same school system that we graduated from), but decided that continuing her education was more important. She currently lives (in my old dorm) on campus, and is looking to get her first job near the college, in hopes of buying a car in the near future

I am proud of Journey Girl’s contribution to this success story. I will always remember the words of her mother, “You brought me and my daughter closer together. Thank you.”

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© 2012 Journey Girl

Andrieka “AJ” Austin; Speaker, Author, Editor of blog.journeygirl.org, voice of www.journeygirlatl.wordpress.com, EmPOWERment Contributor for Inspirational Women Magazine's 'Better Yourself', Founder and Facilitator of Journey Girl, LLC; personal and professional development for girls and women, specializing in female self-emPOWERment programming

See her work online at www.JourneyGirl.org.

E-mail: bookings@journeygirl.org for bookings and speaking engagements.

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