Posts

Summer Owens with mother and 101 year-old grandmother at the S.O. What! Awards and Scholarship Soiree
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The Success of the Inaugural S.O. What! Awards and Scholarship Soiree

One night about six years ago, I had a dream about an awards and scholarship program. I've been a part of several awards programs either as a recipient or helping to plan the event, and I knew I wanted this one to be special. On April…
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3 Lessons From Hosting the 40th Distinguished Alumni Awards at the University of Memphis

In 2019 when I became the president of the University of Memphis Alumni Association National Board of Directors, hosting the 40th Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA) program was something I looked forward to doing at the end of my term. For…
teen mom
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What Happened When I Told It

When I started writing my first book, Life After Birth: A Memoir of Survival and Success as a Teenage Mother, I just wanted to tell my story. Mainly, I wanted to encourage every teen mother not to give up herself, not to quit high school, and…
teen mom

20 Years Later. 4 Lessons Learned as a Teen Mom High School Graduate.

May 23, 1997 marked the end of my high school career and the beginning of my adult life. I was armed with a high school diploma...and a two-year old son. I had no idea that what had been the hardest part of my life up to that point would define…