IT’S THE SMALL THINGS

Once an astounding cheerleader on the Jefferson High School cheerleading squad, Emerald Armstrong was cut from the team for excessive tardiness. What the coaching staff did not know was that Armstrong’s tardiness was not due to complacency, but because she was her brother’s keeper, in the literal sense. Armstrong was responsible for walking her younger brother to preschool every morning, which often made her late for school.

Uncovering the circumstances surrounding her excessive tardiness, Armstrong’s coordinator arranged for her to have reliable transportation to school in the mornings. 

At Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI), our coordinators’ dedication to our students extends far beyond the confines of a classroom. We find that often students like Armstrong are forced to navigate through terrain that is beyond their scope of control, consequently hindering their ability to be successful.

For Armstrong, this “small thing” made a significant difference in her life. She not only found a renewed sense of purpose by knowing that there were people with a willingness to help, but she turned this purpose into action. She went on to establish a dance-style Prep Squad for half-time shows at basketball games and pursued her passion for dance through her post-secondary career by creating an enrichment program for inner-city children, called Moves and Grooves. 

For Emerald, by doing the “small things” for the kids she now serves, she hopes to continue sharing her giftings with others so that she can be a guiding light, just like SEI was for her.