Stephens Motivated To Succeed
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Shandis Stephens is a lot like other high school juniors.
She struggles a little in math. She is a varsity cheerleader and a member of the youth group at Warsaw Wesleyan Church. She was in band until this year. She says her friends would describe her as "always there to listen. Talkative. Fun to be around."
But then there are attributes that make Shandis, 17, stand out among the rest.
At her school, Lakeland Christian Academy, she takes extra classes, studying courses like algebra II, anatomy, history, astronomy, geology, Bible geography, English literature and psychology. She plans to study law, becoming either a criminal or sports attorney.
She was the second-place winner of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Excellence award, receiving a plaque and a $500 scholarship.
She is motivated to succeed "because my dream is to be a lawyer and make something of myself," she said.
Though the program is now defunct, Teen Court provided her with a taste of what she will face in the court system. She participated as a juror and was supposed to be an attorney, but the program in Kosciusko County was canceled.
"It was fun to see what it would be like to be in the courtroom," she said. She said she went to Indiana University this past summer for a two-week program to study to be an attorney for the Teen Court program.
"She earned two college credits for that," said her father, Karlise. "That was pretty exciting."
Shandis wants to go to Howard University because they have a good law program, but she said her dad is encouraging her to go to Valparaiso. She wants to go to school in the big city; her dad prefers her to stay in a small town. They plan to visit some schools in the summer to check them out.
"You really don't understand those big cities until you get there," Karlise said. Overall, it's not where she studies, he said, but her focus.
Shandis knows a lot about small schools. She attended Warsaw Christian School and then LCA, whose student body population is less than 160 students.
"She's been able to hold six A's and a B+," Karlise said, that B+ being in math.
Because LCA is small, Shandis is the only African-American at the school.
"It was weird at first," she said, "but now I don't really think about it."
Since she is the only black student at LCA, she says she is a role model because she shows that a black person can succeed and that stereotypes are wrong.
Her own role models are her parents, Karlise and Shawn, "just because they're always there for me, they correct me when I'm wrong, they keep me on the right path and they help me study," she said.
And then there's her faith.
"It's very (important). You need God in your life wherever you go. He's there to help you," she said.
"(She's) just a great young lady, I'm really proud of her," said her father. "She just does everything to make a mom and dad proud." [[In-content Ad]]
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Shandis Stephens is a lot like other high school juniors.
She struggles a little in math. She is a varsity cheerleader and a member of the youth group at Warsaw Wesleyan Church. She was in band until this year. She says her friends would describe her as "always there to listen. Talkative. Fun to be around."
But then there are attributes that make Shandis, 17, stand out among the rest.
At her school, Lakeland Christian Academy, she takes extra classes, studying courses like algebra II, anatomy, history, astronomy, geology, Bible geography, English literature and psychology. She plans to study law, becoming either a criminal or sports attorney.
She was the second-place winner of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Excellence award, receiving a plaque and a $500 scholarship.
She is motivated to succeed "because my dream is to be a lawyer and make something of myself," she said.
Though the program is now defunct, Teen Court provided her with a taste of what she will face in the court system. She participated as a juror and was supposed to be an attorney, but the program in Kosciusko County was canceled.
"It was fun to see what it would be like to be in the courtroom," she said. She said she went to Indiana University this past summer for a two-week program to study to be an attorney for the Teen Court program.
"She earned two college credits for that," said her father, Karlise. "That was pretty exciting."
Shandis wants to go to Howard University because they have a good law program, but she said her dad is encouraging her to go to Valparaiso. She wants to go to school in the big city; her dad prefers her to stay in a small town. They plan to visit some schools in the summer to check them out.
"You really don't understand those big cities until you get there," Karlise said. Overall, it's not where she studies, he said, but her focus.
Shandis knows a lot about small schools. She attended Warsaw Christian School and then LCA, whose student body population is less than 160 students.
"She's been able to hold six A's and a B+," Karlise said, that B+ being in math.
Because LCA is small, Shandis is the only African-American at the school.
"It was weird at first," she said, "but now I don't really think about it."
Since she is the only black student at LCA, she says she is a role model because she shows that a black person can succeed and that stereotypes are wrong.
Her own role models are her parents, Karlise and Shawn, "just because they're always there for me, they correct me when I'm wrong, they keep me on the right path and they help me study," she said.
And then there's her faith.
"It's very (important). You need God in your life wherever you go. He's there to help you," she said.
"(She's) just a great young lady, I'm really proud of her," said her father. "She just does everything to make a mom and dad proud." [[In-content Ad]]