Whitney Frierson

"I grew up in Phillips County.  Living in Phillips County can make any child grow up too fast.  Throughout my eighteen years, I have heard stories of classmates who have lost their fathers to drug violence, peers whose mothers have abandoned them for a life on the streets, and several others who have struggled as the head of their household trying to make ends meet.  Sometimes, we have this façade where we think we are invincible.  However, our resilience comes from our ability to rely on each other, enabling us to conquer obstacles that many thought were impossible.  Each of us have a story, and mine began in the fall of 2001.

            One evening, when I was in the first grade, my mother approached with the news: “Your dad and I are getting a divorce.” “What is a divorce?” I thought.  Until then, I had lived with my grandmother, mother, father, and sister in a small house in the country side of Lexa, Arkansas.  I was not blind to the fact that there were problems going on in my home.  But what was this big, fancy word I heard my mother speak of…divorce???  My mother explained to my sister and I that our father would be going away and that they would no longer be together.  I went to school the next day, ironically, with a smile on my face.  People knew me as the “quiet” girl, who would occasionally get in front of the class and belt out the latest Whitney’s Houston’s song.  No one really knew, however, how much this quiet girl secretly relished in waking up and going to school every morning to escape her troubles.  It was there that I was able to blossom and learned to express myself creatively.

            Because my home life was sometimes difficult, school was like a candy store to me.  I stepped into high school determined to break the mold of the shy, awkward skinny girl who was deemed the “crybaby” of the class of 2012. It was in high school, I began to embrace my quirkiness and fell in love with education.   I saw education as my outlet to leave Phillips County, excel in college, and to one day come back and give my city hope in a time where we definitely need it.  When I finally confirmed that I was going to the University of Arkansas, I saw my dream turning into a reality."


Age: 19 years old
Attends: University of Arkansas 
West Helena, Arkansas

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