I met Gabby in 8th grade in middle school and she was already carrying something powerful inside of her. She was brilliant, sharp, observant, and deeply aware of the world around her. But in traditional school, that brilliance didn’t have a place to land. The system didn’t know what to do with a young Black woman who questioned, who pushed, who shined too brightly. And when you’re a star in a space that isn’t built for your light, the shadows can start to overtake you.
At FabNewport, she found room to expand. Gabby glowed. Her smile lit the room. She found her voice, and more importantly, she trusted it. Gabby began to author her own learning journey, stepping fully into who she was and who she was becoming. That path led her to the MET School, where she continued to build a life rooted in purpose and possibility. She interned at the Equity Institute and with a state senator, two spaces where her voice was welcomed and needed.
And somewhere along the way, our relationship became something deeper than mentor and learner. We became family. It’s not a moment I remember. One day it just existed, filling a place I didn’t know was empty.
We celebrated birthdays together. Shared Thanksgiving meals. Built traditions that had nothing to do with programs or outcomes and everything to do with love. Gabby and her younger sister, Lacie, gave me gifts I will carry forever, a hand-carved cutting board of an elephant protecting her young, a necklace with Lacie’s baby picture. Symbols of care, of protection, of belonging. They call me their second mom. Their mother, Marcia, reminds them to check in on their “mother”,meaning me. I can’t describe what an honor that is and this kind of relationship doesn’t come from a curriculum. It comes from trust, from consistency, from showing up again and again.
I spoke to Gabby yesterday. She was glowing in a different way now. She’s halfway across the world, in Marrakech, telling me about the sights she’s seeing and the friends she’s visiting. Next stop, Amsterdam. She’s moving through the world with curiosity, courage, and joy. Just living. Just learning.
Before we ended the conversation, we laughed over a Google Form I sent her. I told her I loved her. To be safe. To check in. She reminded me she loved me too, and that more pictures were coming.
Gabby hopes to return to the States and find a job in Philly this summer. But right now, she’s exactly where she needs to be, expanding her world, on her own terms.
There’s a story we are told that where you grow up determines how far you can go. That your zip code, your school system, your race, your gender and the barriers placed in front of you will define your future. And it’s true, those systems are real. Oppression is real. Some of us feel it every single day.
Possibility is real too. Gabby is proof of that and when young people are given the right relationships they soar. I am inspired by her.