Marcella P.

AMIkids Pensacola

From age 11 to age 17, I attended three different charter schools and was more attracted to misbehaving than I was to my education. I was unfocused in school and in life. Eventually, I ended up at AMIkids.

After struggling academically in past education efforts, at AMIkids I was able to improve my grades and get caught up on school. Thanks in large part to AMIkids, I was able to go back to high school and graduate. After graduation, I kept going on my educational journey, receiving a vocational certificate in carpentry and attending Everest University studying business management.

After so many people saw the potential in me and helped me along my journey, I always wanted to give back to the community and inspire others like me. I began speaking to young people and encouraging them to never give up on themselves, particularly since I have found my way to succeed after struggling for so long. With that in mind, in 2014, I pursued a career in motivational speaking and have since traveled to various states, digging deep into the lives of troubled young people and encouraging them to live above the influence of their peers. I let them know each individual is someone who matters and they need to embrace living full and not just existing.