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Many people know me as a girl that's full of smiles, laughter, and joy. Believe me, I've definitely had my walk through life!!

Although I had my son at the age of 18, I didn't let this stop me from reaching my life goals! Instead, this helped push me even more. I chose the path of a Computer Scientist/Info Sec Specialist with IBM because I refused to be another statistic. When I told my mother I was pregnant, she lost all hope of me going to college to play soccer, but I pressed on and went on to not only play soccer for Old Dominion and graduate with a Computer Science degree, but I am a successful Info Security Specialist and I play professional tackle football for women! My son is my #1 fan and my mom is a proud parent!

I would say the hardest part of getting to where I am, was the challenge of being able to juggle being a full-time single parent, a full-time student, and manage to play soccer for Old Dominion University. Not only did I have these things to juggle, I also had to worry about how I would make ends meet. When my son was about 2yrs old, his father told me that he got me pregnant on purpose because he didn't want me to leave him and go to college. A lot of people think it's the woman’s fault and they do this to trap the guy, but not in my case. Studies have shown that most teen moms grow up to be on poverty, but I refused to be another statistic.

In college, I received TANF, food stamps, WIC, Medicaid and daycare assistance to get by, which helped tremendously. I also received money back from the university to help with rent. On several occasions I stayed up all night while my son was asleep to complete homework! No matter what the weather I pressed on and graduated in 2003!

In 2007, one of my biggest supporters, my dad, passed away out of the blue from a heart attack. He attended all of my games and was the loudest person in the stands. He was at my football game one day and gone forever a few days later. Because my son and so many other people look to me for a smile, maintaining my happiness has been the biggest challenge thus far!

My main motivation is my son and the fact that I refuse to be another statistic. So many young girls in the world get pregnant and not know which way to turn. I wanted to be a role model for them and show them that the sky is the limit! Whatever it is that your heart desires in life, you CAN and will get it. It's not going to be easy, but when there's a will there's a way. As long as you have faith and God on your side anything is possible. My number one priority as a single mom is to show my son that he needs to strive for more in life, more than high school. In Dec. 2010, I will be graduating with my Master's Degree in Information Assurance!

During my journey, I have hit rock bottom and now I'm on my way to the top! After graduating from ODU, I moved to Atlanta to begin my career. I was there for 3 months and could not find a job. I took on a role as a nanny for my cousin's 2 young girls making about $25 a week or so, and my mother helped out and paid my rent. The interesting thing about my journey is that my lowest point was the turning point of my life. I lost all government assistance, TANF, food stamps, Medicaid, and daycare assistance all in the same day b/c of a mistake on their part. This same day I went to job fair and almost got killed by a random person that chased me up the street as I was walking towards the job fair building and literally threatened to take my life. A few days later I had a message on the answering machine from the recruiter I interviewed with at the job fair giving me a job offer which was the start of my career and the next message was a message stating that I would be getting back all of my government assistance.

I am now a successful Information Security Specialist with IBM by day and a professional tackle football player by night as a running back with the DC Divas! I have recently reached my 1 year anniversary working for IBM and finished my 3rd season with the Divas as the teams leading rusher as well as the league's leading rusher. This season, the hard work and determination paid off!

I am extremely excited and proud to say, that I was just selected as one of the top athletes in the country to be a running back for the first ever Team USA Women's National Tackle Football team. I have officially earned a spot on the Team USA roster and will be competing in the first ever international women's tackle football tournament hosted by IFAF in Stockholm, Sweden!!! We will be playing 5 other countries, including Germany, Finland, Sweden, Austria, and Canada and bringing home the GOLD!!!! This is history in the making and I'm so blessed to be a part of it!!!

My son is now 11 years old and is a successful 6th grader!! We are both saved and members of First Baptist Church of Glenarden!

Perseverance and determination are what keep me going. I have been told that I can be stubborn when it comes to things, but it is because of this determination that I have been able to overcome all of the obstacles that I have faced in life and press on to reaching my goals. My goal as a child was to play soccer in college, and I did whatever it took to reach this goal. My goal in college was to be on somebody's USA team, but I thought it would be for soccer! Now I'm reaching for bigger things, I'm going to start my own company and foundation, and help other teen moms achieve their goals as well!!! I always tell people to "Reach for the stars, and when you get there reach higher." Nothing can stop you from reaching your goals but yourself! Right after I had my son I did some motivational speaking for the Teen Health Department to help motivate and enlighten young girls and I continue to do this every day.

If there is anything you want to do in life, whether it is play football, a sport that people always told girls they could not play, don't let anyone stop you! Go get it, claim it, it's yours! Although I am proof that it is possible to beat the odds and not be a statistic of just another young black mother on welfare, I try to encourage abstinence. It's definitely not impossible, but when I look back and try to figure out how I did it, I can only point to the Lord above! If someone gets pregnant at a young age, at least they can look to me and know that there is hope. When I got pregnant, I had the choice of abortion, but one of my best friends told me "God will never put anything on you that you can't handle."

My friends and associates look to me for motivation when times get tough, but there are so many other people out there that may only be missing that one word for their motivation or confirmation. Hearing my testimony could be just what they need to find their own happiness! I hope reading my story makes you go out and get it too!!!