School

“Education can help keep youth from breaking the law. Education could get you anywhere. You can't do anything if you can't read or count money. You have to do school. It's not really hard if you put your mind to it, so just do it.

Teachers who are supportive help. Teachers that will devote the time to actually teach instead of just running through pages in a book. One teacher helped me write down my goals. That helped me with my work. I like that some teachers would like to sit there and help me.

I know a lot of my teachers have been very impactful and they don't necessarily look like me or we don't have the same beliefs or anything, but they're just there to say, ‘Your mind is so brilliant.’ They have pushed me and encouraged me to try new things--it just takes one person. The people that's inside the school, like teachers, staff, whoever, just like be there for students just because. And care for them. Like check up on them every day and ask them how they have been doing. Little things that matter. Everything matters, but little things matter the most.

Some teachers can be supportive. I feel like it depends on the teachers though. Some teachers see what you're going through. I will come to school sometimes sad because of things I was going through, and sometimes a teacher will see that. They have asked me if I needed help with anything or they'd ask if I needed to go out for time alone or something. Some see something happening and they want to build you up and keep you going. Most of my teachers in school, they'll talk to me, help me get me opportunities to be what I want to be in life.

I started off focusing on science in my magnet school and I just didn't like it very much. One of my teachers was like, you should switch to law. I switched over and then I got into mock trial and debate clubs and different things with that. I realized that I kinda liked it a lot. And as you go through, you get into sociology and introduction to law and stuff like that. And so that just is what sparked my interest.”