Capella
I grew up in the NYC Foster Care system aged 4 to 21. And then they let me go...to the streets in 1997. My cheek touched pavement many a night for a while since aged 14. If you knew of BCW (now ACS), sometimes the street was the better option. I still went to school, chatised myself about my own grades and kept up...and stayed in all the "smart student" programs. Nobody knew, until they knew. Education was my only way up. It was not negotiable That was the past.
I want to add RIP to Lisa Steinberg💐🙏🏾. I went to high school at aged 13 and then sued my adopted parents at age 14 for abuse and the rights to my younger brother. I lost but I still tried. I lost my voice for a long time after that because i felt like nobody believed me or heard or cared about our obvious scars. They always labeled us as liars and troubled throwaways who should've been grateful to be housed.
I have now completed 25 years in behavioral health and spirituality. I just earned my Master of Science in Psychology, completed my Human Subjects Research certification, and recently completed my CASAC.
WHAT A GRAND PEACE TO THE PEACE!
Some years ago, my mentor and boss, John "Mook" Gibbons, called me and asked a question that quietly changed the direction of my life:
"Are you ready to work?"
He didn't ask about my past.
He didn't ask about my résumé.
He asked about my willingness to move forward.
Years earlier, I had made a promise to God that I would earn my degree only if I didn't have to spend years in a traditional classroom. God said, "Bet." 😅 (Okay...maybe with a little help from the 2025 super solar flare upgrading my brainpower...just kidding!) He handed me Capella straight out of a lazy sundrenched vision.
In 2025, I completed my Master's in Psychology in just three months. God always keeps a promise and will still help us through the whole way.
The journey isn't over.
I have moved on to another university, in 2027, I will graduate with an MSW. In 2029, earn my doctorate.
All for the children currently on my old path.
Today, many people know me as "the lady who does the apps and paperwork." They see the finished products. What they don't see are the years of learning, building, documenting, researching, and creating systems behind the scenes.
One day I'll get to share the story of how I co-created Wu-Tang For The Children Inc. with my hands. It's proof that one conversation, one opportunity, and one decision to work can change the course of everything.
Life doesn't stop, you gotta keep going. God doesn't call qualified ones. GOD qualifies the called ones. How do you hear your spirit called with all that noise going on?
"Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else." Galatians 6:4
Learn to appreciate the qualities that make you different. Sometimes the very traits that seem awkward to others become the reason you're able to carve out a path no one else imagined.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands." I Thessalonians 14:11-12
Continue learning.
Continue building.
Continue growing.
#ExtremeEducation #BehavioralHealth #Psychology #SocialWork #Research #LifelongLearning #Faith #Graduation2026 #Inspiration #wutangforthechildren