An ode to Destiny

Last night Destiny Champaigne Smith received her scholarship from Take Stock in Children.

Not only did the Ridgeview High School student keep good grades and stay out of trouble, as required for this scholarship, she also was a class officer, started an ecology club, was active in drama, multicultural club and poetry club and track team. She was a runner-up in the Miss RHS pageant her junior year and then helped run the pageant during her senior year. She could run the guidance office when staffers stepped out. She even taught her French club when the teacher was out.

My friend Sheri Freshour and I were Destiny's mentors for the past three years. It flew by. We tell everyone she mentored us. I recommend mentoring to anyone who has an hour a week to be a friend and cheerleader for a student. I wish I'd had one when I was in high school.

Spending time on the couch in the guidance office has been such fun. We chatted about politics to pets to pet peeves to pop stars. We got to meet many of Destiny's friends, very neat kids with so much going for them. Their maturity levels were amazing. I surely was not that "together" when I was in high school.

Unfortunately, she didn't get accepted to her first choice college - Harvard. Harvard's loss. But she did get accepted at Wesleyan College in West Virginia. She's going to reapply to Harvard next year.

Thanks Destiny for sharing your high school career with us. It was a great experience and we learned so much from you. You are a beautiful, bright, caring, conscientious young lady and your charm and kindness will take you far. You are so rational, diplomatic, a problem-solver. We know you will do great things. Thanks to your mom for sharing you with us. Please stay in touch on Facebook and let us know what you are up to, what your dorm looks like, how your classes are going.

Congratulations to you and all the Take Stock graduates.