The 17 Year Old Designer

When I first met M. she was a 12-years-old and in fifth grade. I thought to myself, “Oh boy, here is some trouble.” Spontaneous, active, restless, and flirtatious, I had a sense that this amazing little lady could be headed into a trap if she didn’t have a safe place to blossom.

I thought I was in for trouble, but after five years in our after-school program I can say that M. has become my pride and joy. She is still the spontaneous, lively spirit that drove her back in fifth grade, but with an added groundedness, an assurance of her worth and identity, and a tenacity of will to make something out of her life.

M. was one of the first students to join our sewing initiative. Sometimes frustrated by her mistakes, she kept at it, until on her 17th birthday her older sister who works abroad saw her passion and bought M. her very own sewing machine. She graduated from 9th grade and from our program in June 2015 and now attends a community college of design. We are all delighted and praise God that M. discovered one of her passions through our sewing program and has chosen to continue to pursue her dreams to become a clothing designer.

-Rachel Simons-

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