“YELLS helped me to grow in my communication skills, keeping eye contact, networking skills, and becoming more of a leader. It helped me to see that there is always a way around things. If there is a bad situation, there’s always a way to make it better. The YELLS values helped me to realize this, especially Professionalism, Going Above and Beyond, and of course Energy and Enthusiasm. It has helped my peers to grow too. A lot of my YELLS peers were childish at times, but now they are more focused and thinking about plans after high school.”
– Anyla Edwards (YELLS Community Action Cafe Graduate)
We’re so proud that our amazing YELLS graduate, Anyla, used her inner leadership and the lessons she learned at the Community Action Cafe to succeed both academically and personally! Anyla started attending the YELLS Community Action Cafe program during the 2017-2018 school year. She moved to Franklin Gateway from the Virgin Islands with her family during her Freshman year. Once enrolled in school she was told that she had only 4 transferable credits and was behind the rest of her peers. Thankfully, Anyla had an incredibly strong work ethic and was introduced to the Performance Learning Center(PLC) program at Marietta High School. The PLC program allows for students that are behind in their credits to work at their own pace through online classes. It is a good alternative for students that need to catch up, but it requires diligence and self discipline to succeed. Anyla made it her mission to catch up to the rest of her class and also maintain her good grades.
Staff remember Anyla’s first few visits to YELLS vividly. She was quiet at first and would come straight to the back of the room and sit down to start on her assignments, only talking to her closest friends. But the quiet Anyla that we were first introduced to, quickly came out of her shell. As she got more comfortable, we quickly learned who the real Anyla was. She became one of our fiercest student leaders, a student that was always willing to lead the group, jump on the mic, and always had an opinion to share. She had an infectious, fun, and sassy personality that was hard to miss. She took it upon herself to make sure that each student felt loved on their birthday, rallying all of the other students and staff in a planned celebration, complete with heartfelt cards and speeches.
While Anyla loved to have fun, she definitely prioritized her school assignments. She took her grades and schoolwork very seriously. She always started each day by making her daily rounds being sure to welcome each of the other YELLS students and staff, before checking out a computer to start on her work. Before long, Anyla not only caught up to her peers, but she surpassed them. We were so proud when she announced that she would be graduating December of 2019, an entire semester early! Her hard work paid off and she exceeded her goals!
Now an official YELLS graduate, and the current teen Operations Manager for the Cafe, Anyla has already begun giving back to her peers by inspiring them to succeed in their goals, and supporting staff in activities and events. She has also agreed to use her leadership skills to help us re-engage other YELLS alumni and continue to give back to the Franklin Gateway community. As Anyla reflected on her time at YELLS, she shared that her favorite part of YELLS is “how we are given the chance to come up with events or activities for the community, and how we are so involved in the community outside of YELLS.”
Anyla is currently working at Studio Movie Grill, sharing that the serving and customer service experience she gained as a Community Action Cafe student has helped her excel at her new job, receiving recognition from her employers even before she was fully trained in her new role. Anyla has future plans to pursue a degree in nursing and the YELLS staff couldn’t be more proud of all that she has accomplished. Congratulations, Anyla!
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