Hello! I'm Sheila, I’m 23 years young and currently a full time student at Saginaw Valley State University studying Social Work. I originally was going to school to get my medical assistant degree but realized that was not for me. In 2013, I graduated from Delta College with my Associate's in Arts, Youth Services Certificate, and Macro Certificate and transferred to SVSU for Social Work. I will be graduating with my BSW in the spring of 2016.
This is my second year attending the FSM Summit but this is the first year to have a Student Advisory Board. I was extremely excited about being asked to be part of the team and help plan the Summit. This year's theme is "Make Your Mark", and I been making my mark for the past 10 years and I will continue to do so as I enter my career. I have been advocating for foster care reform and I use my leadership skills and networking abilities to help push for positive change for our foster care system.
I plan on get my Master’s Degree in Social Work and run my own trauma care home to help kids and youth who have been through trauma and help them process, cope, and accept their past trauma by using alternative methods to treatment, such as art therapy, music therapy, pet therapy, just to name a few. Being a part of organizations such as Fostering Success Michigan, I learned and experienced things that will take me far in my life. My advice to anyone struggling is to remember that some of the best things in life come from struggle and to never give up and always have faith in yourself.

How do you make you mark? #MakeYourMarkFSM