Forced to grow up at a very young age, she recognized that education is the key to a happy future.
Kayla spent her early years moving around from place to place while enduring an unstable childhood. At the age of 16, her mother passed away and her father left her to live with her grandparents. Shortly thereafter, Kayla became responsible for caring for her younger sister and she was forced to mature and grow and become financially responsible. Kayla knew that education was the key to a brighter future, but was unable to afford school and care for her sister. The scholarship that she received from Hide In Plain Sight was the impetus to start her on her way. “Receiving the HIPS scholarship made me ecstatic because it provided me with funding to make it through my first years of schooling. It meant that good things do happen to good people. All I do is try and help care for others and make others happy so when I heard someone was willing to help me, it felt unusual. It gave HOPE to my family…. it is the word I always use for this scholarship and what it did for me.”
Kayla recently completed her Associates Degree at a community college and is now attending a university to earn a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science and a Masters in Athletic Training. She eventually hopes to go to Graduate school for her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She currently works at a gym and continues to care for her sister. “I am trying to live a happy life while being a mother for my sister and helping care for my grandparents as well. I am just trying to be me, and be happy while helping others.”
