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I’m one of six kids from a single-parent home. When I was 13, we lived in a motel, and my brothers and sisters and I slept on blankets on the floor. It was the most difficult time in my childhood.
Nobody expected me to become a ballerina, much less a soloist for the American Ballet Theater — the first African-American in two decades. But I did. And now I’m living the dream of so many girls around the world. My life feels like something out of a fairy tale.
How did I get from there to here? I was introduced to ballet for the very first time at a Boys & Girls Club in San Pedro, California — on a basketball court of all places. For my mother, it was one of the only places she knew my siblings and I would be safe after school, where we could enjoy extracurricular activities and tutoring. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) provides an enriching space for four million youth annually at 4,100 facilities across the country.
My afterschool activity propelled me to success. Now, I’m honored, as the organization’s National Youth of the Year Ambassador, to have the chance to serve as a spokesperson for the organization and mentor young girls with guidance otherwise lacking.
Sadly, one out of every five kids leaves school with no place to go. These youth are at greater risk of dropping out of school and falling into a pattern of drug use and violence. Out-of-school time on hundreds of afternoons throughout the school year is critical, and during the three-month summer break too. Each summer, youth from low-income communities experience a dramatic learning loss and begin their next school year at a significant disadvantage.
