4 minute read
With the Faith of a Mustard Seed
By Stacey Walters
Born and raised in the low-income, high-violence neighborhood of Englewood, Chicago, Annita Green ’16 is redefining the perception of her community and creating positive change in youth by providing them with the mentorship, life skills and academic head start they need to go to college and pursue their dreams.
Green manages middle and secondary school services for the non profit Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development, Inc., one of Chicago’s leading gang intervention, violence prevention and youth development organizations. Their mission is to inspire hope and offer opportunities for youth facing systemic obstacles to achieve positive futures in some of Chicago’s most challenging neighborhoods.
Early in life, Green encountered adverse experiences and learned several life lessons from her mother. She gained first-hand knowledge of what it was like to grow up in poverty and shares those experiences with her students.
“My mother was my first and favorite teacher. She worked very hard to shelter me from the community’s reality and accidentally created duality for me. The way my home was run and my community operated were two completely different mindsets, theories and practices that I grew to learn to navigate between,” said Green. “I was expected to think critically, be articulate and take academically-competitive opportunities.”
In 2012, Green came across a college resource website that connected her to the University of Pikeville. Her mother encouraged her to leave Englewood to earn her degree and experience the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.
“I knew my mother’s expectation of attending a four-year college. I refused to believe that I couldn’t get accepted somewhere and receive a scholarship,” said Green. “Being bold and having a mustard seed of faith is why I am here today.”
During Green’s freshman year at the university, her mother fell ill and was in hospice care. On the threshold of unenrolling and having no transportation to return to Pikeville, student services arranged for someone to meet her at the Amtrak in Ashland to bring her back to campus so she could continue her education.
“I missed several classes and received phone calls to see if I needed anything. That care and being noticed mattered most to me. I never wanted to leave UPIKE. I was so thankful I did not have to unenroll. Undoubtedly, I would not have graduated if I had been at any other institution,” said Green. “It was then that I knew that it is necessary to give that intentionality back to the youth from neighborhoods similar to mine.”
Green proudly walked across the stage as a first-generation graduate, earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology. In 2020, she completed her master’s in business administration from Roosevelt University. Today, Green feels blessed to have a job that allows her to give back to her community by providing resources for students to learn about careers they are interested in pursuing and helping them understand there is more to the world than the neighborhoods they grew up in.
“So many students living in underserved communities want to have guidance and encouragement that their dreams are achievable. They are more than deserving of all the care and support they are seeking,” said Green. “I always knew my community was underserved. Now, I utilize education to empower youth to take their future into their own hands and ensure they have the tools necessary to do it for themselves to impact their family and the next generation.”
