Stories | My Sister's Circle

Mentorship: Asia

“My mentor is like a godmother,” says Asia. And she doesn’t just mean the fairy kind: one who surprises her, year after year, with a birthday cake from her favorite bakery; one who welcomes her on a family trip to explore Florida; and one who helps her find that perfect Cinderella-esque outfit for a special occasion. While it’s true that Asia’s mentor has done all of those things, her real magic, says Asia, lies in her commitment. “She’s helped my mother and me with counseling. She calls me from vacation. Her emotional support is the biggest piece for me.” “She listens, she cares, and she never gives up”, says Asia, who recently graduated from a high...

Exposure: Antinnea

Antinnea grew up in an inner-city Baltimore neighborhood where single-parenthood, poverty and a de-emphasis on education were the norm. “Being a part of My Sister’s Circle allowed me to see that I wasn’t living the way a lot of other people in America live,” says Antinnea. And it was that exposure, she says, that changed her life. “My Sister’s Circle played a big role in introducing me to boarding school. It was culture shock for me. I didn’t even know there was an alternative way of living. I had no idea what other people had, especially in terms of education.” And a great education was what this well-spoken young woman craved. After boarding school in...

Consistency: Kandice

Kandice plans to become a social worker to help kids who have grown up just like she has. “I didn’t have a childhood, so I want to help other kids feel safe,” she says. “You know how it is when things in the house are unstable. Kids are exposed to stuff they’re not supposed to know about at an early age.” Since she was 10 years old, Kandice has considered My Sister’s Circle to be her “safe” place. The My Sister’s Circle staff, her mentor and her friends are within her “circle”. They are the ones who have offered her a place to stay when she was put on the street, encouraged her as a sociology and criminal justice major at North Carolina Wesleyan...