If you ask 20-year-old Bryttani Giles what she wants to do with her life, she’ll tell you: “I want to do whatever it takes to help people.” A junior with a full ride at Northwest University, Bryttani is majoring in Communication with a concentration in Media Studies and is currently on the Dean’s List. After graduation, she hopes to use her degree to help peoples’ voices be heard and articulated. Bryttani has received numerous awards and scholarships including the the Leadership 1000 Scholarship, NU Success Award, NU Academic Scholarship, the CWU Dean’s and Trustee’s Award, and the Orphan Foundation of America Scholarship, now Foster Care To Success. One day, she dreams of using her education and experiences to give back by founding orphanages, schools and scholarship foundations. Outside of school, the number one thing that Bryttani likes to do is volunteer. In high school, Bryttani volunteered at multiple nursing homes, homeless shelters, schools, and a crisis pregnancy center. She was elected senior class Publicist and served on her student council, as well as participated in art, sport photography, drama, choir, and varsity cheer. While at college, Bryttani studies hard and participates in extra-curricular activities. Bryttani dreams of helping youth with similar backgrounds beat the odds and realize their potential, and she is already doing just that. She has been a teen mentor for TrailSeekers, a program geared towards helping young minority children facing early life challenges, an after-school elementary tutor, a program sponsored by AmeriCorps, and has also chosen to give back to Catholic Family & Child Services, the organization where she completed her Independent Living Program, by volunteering as a barista for their summer festival. Currently, she leads at her local youth group and volunteers at the coffee shop and band at her church. When she isn’t at school or volunteering, Bryttani enjoys painting and cooking. She also loves graphic design and has started her own business, and even designed wedding packages for many of her friends, as well as advertisement material for local businesses and church programs. More recently, she has joined the university newspaper, as the staff’s lead web designer and manager. Bryttani spent over 10 years in foster care. She and her siblings moved around a lot before being finalized into kinship care with her mother’s adoptive parents at the age of 7. Now, she is newly married and lives on-campus at her university. Despite her challenging circumstances, Bryttani writes, “every event that has happened in my life has prepared me for working with youth. I consider my life as a blessing, despite the hardships, a blessing that I hope will help others.”
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2012 Outstanding Young Leaders
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