For more than 10 years, Girls Inc. has been a second home for Tyesha. Growing up, her parents struggled with drug problems and Tyesha and her siblings didn’t always have enough food to eat or running water to bathe. For a while her family was living in hotels, Tyesha had no home.
Tyesha felt hopeless and unwanted but she soon found Girls Inc. She describes the staff and girls at Girls Inc. as a family. The trusting mentors she had at Girls Inc. helped her to feel valued and supported. Girls Inc. is where she also found her best friends along with these positive role models. She says “Each and every day, Ms. Stephanie would make me feel loved, giving me the warmest hug and smile. Often, it was the only hug I got.”
As Tyesha got older , she began volunteering with the younger girls. She soon started working with the high school program and was recommended by staff to become a paid employee. Tyesha was hired as a camp/after-school counselor and she loved that she was able to serve as a mentor for younger generations of Girls inc. girls. She was able to make the same lasting impact.
Tyesha is the first person in her family to go to college and has plans to earn her MBA at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and start her own business.