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Crossroads for Kids is delighted to announce that Kayla Dias is the recipient of our First Annual C5 Alumni Achievement Award! This award recognizes someone who exemplifies both the 5 Cs and the Cornerstone Code, and who has gone above and beyond expectations for a graduate of our program.
Kayla is an incredibly talented and accomplished young woman who is deeply involved with many worthy organizations as a junior at the University of Connecticut, even as she returns to Crossroads every summer to mentor the teens following in her footsteps! Read about a sampling of the incredible things she's accomplished in her full bio.
We invite you to share in Kayla's inspirational and beautiful words to our 2012 Crossroads C5 graduating class. Enjoy a clip of her remarks here, with text provided below.
Congratulations, Kayla!
Hi everyone! I’m beyond honored to receive this award and so humbled to be recognized among such a talented and amazing group of young people. I can’t begin to explain how important this award is to me. I have no doubt that I wouldn’t have done half of the things I have if it were not for C5 New England and Crossroads for Kids. I haven’t physically grown much since I was a Flint; I was a small, shy girl witha huge heart but a lot of insecurities. Over time, C5 seriously transformed me. All of the crazy amazing experiences we had and unbreakable friendships and support systems we built gave me the confidence to feel big and aim to do big things no matter where I was—Boston, Connecticut, Africa, wherever.
Even if you try to forget, C5 will always remind you that you are a leader. And, as a C5 teen, you are a force to be reckoned with by your peers and your communities. Going to a really big school like UConn, it’d be easy to fade into the background and be the shy girl that I still am sometimes. But, after surviving Wyoming, what is there to be afraid of? And, with so many C5 and Crossroads people available when I need help, failure just isn’t an option. So, for those of you just starting out as well as today’s graduates, I encourage you to take advantage of all the skills and relationships that C5 offers.
Don’t doubt for a second that you can build the future you wish to see, but if you do, remember you’ve climbed mountains already—literally!—and, if you’re here, someone believes in your greatness and you’re already a star!
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