I was born in Indiana, and from the moment I entered

the world, many people would have said I never really

had a chance. Before I was even born, I was already

facing three generations of poverty, addiction,

incarceration, and involvement in the foster care

system. When I first entered foster care, I was always in

trouble. I wasn’t just in the foster care system—I was

also involved in the juvenile justice system. However, as

I grew older, it became increasingly clear to me that

the only way to break the generational curse was to

focus on education and pursue a highly skilled career.

​

I graduated from high school at 17 years old with a 3.9 GPA—one year early. At 18, I decided I had had enough and signed out of the extended foster care system. I was tired of social workers controlling my life. Despite battling cancer, experiencing homelessness, enduring two murders close to me, and suffering many personal losses, I earned my Associate’s Degree in Legal Studies from Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne, graduating Magna Cum Laude. That achievement allowed me to transfer to the University of Southern California on a full-tuition scholarship. Unfortunately, the struggles didn’t end there. In 2020, COVID-19 hit, and everything fell apart. That’s when I found Journey House.

 

For me, Journey House provided a community that truly understood. In the academic world, there is often little understanding or compassion for people facing real, difficult circumstances—especially foster youth and so-called “delinquent children.”

 

In 2023, I graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Law. In 2025, I moved to the Bay Area to attend law school at Santa Clara University on a $135,000 merit scholarship.

 

My future goals and dreams are to start my own brokerage and to litigate cases involving crimes against children as a prosecutor, land use disputes, or intellectual property litigation. Regardless of where my career takes me, I am deeply grateful for Journey House, the opportunities I’ve been given, and—most importantly—the people who helped lift me up when I was in a very dark place. Many of the people who should have been there for me weren’t, but the staff at Journey House and others believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. My journey to law school would not have been possible without them.