Miscellaneous Articles

On September First, Florida ran an article on the Back-to-School Breakfast and Pep Rally.  Read the entire article here.

AACY would like to congratulate our future State Senator, Maria Sachs.

On May 20th, Dr. Connie Siskowski and Mark Hansen met with Maria to
discuss important topics such as students who are caregiving youth.

We appreciate her understanding of the issues faced by caregiving youth
and her willingness to work towards affecting change on their behalf in
the future.

We look forward to working with Representative Sachs and her team in November and beyond!

Connie Siskowski is highlighted in this exerpt from the press releases of the 2009 induction ceremony into Ashoka.  Besides Connie, you'll be able to meet all of the class by following a link on the page.

Naekia Rowley - Scholarship Recipient

"I was born to help people, all I had to do was figure out why" ~ Naekia

Born as a minority, where parents lacked a higher level of education, things were not easy for Naekia from the beginning. She was raised in a single parent household with her mom working long hours as a Certified Nursing Assistant making only $6.00 per hour. Her father scraped by doing migrant work. Naekia and her siblings were forced to live with her grandparents.
Naekia Rowley    

At first, life seemed comfortable with her grandparents and her grandmother was a daily inspiration for Naekia. But the days of content were quickly replaced by tragedy. Her grandfather underwent surgery for throat cancer and her grandmother suffered a heart attack right in front of her. Naekia became the caretaker for her grandparents, the parent for her siblings and the family provider of for all of them.

During this trying time, Naekia still understood the importance of education and enrolled in Palm Beach Community College where she earned a high school and college credit simultaneously. She maintained a 3.8 GPA and ranked number four in a class of 220. National Honor Society, Student Council, Twenty Pearls of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Youth Court, Project Good Fit and Dean's list are among her amazing list of awards and activities.

And she worked part-time at Payless shoe store.

Surprisingly, Naekia's career path was revealed to her. For seven long days she had laid by her side watching her grandmother suffer in a vegetative state, without being able to assist her. "As badly as I wanted to help, all I could do was sit there and hold her hand during her final moments." Her goal was to become a nurse and continue her caregiving efforts as a career.

Now this amazing young woman is enrolled in Florida Atlantic University's Nursing School.

Naekia reflects, "I have learned that there is no challenge that I cannot face and no current that will wash my tenaciousness away. I am ready to succeed, and the foundation has been formed in the making of my character."

Godspeed, Naekia.

Submitted by Morgan Green, Volunteer