Kadeja
Portrait with Natalie Brasington
Description: A young woman wearing a black formal dress stands in an alley. White light emanates from her body and she holds a golden gift. There is a path of golden gifts behind her. Reporters stand to her right and two people sit in the alley towards her left.
Portrait with Zachary Maxwell Stertz
“I’d describe myself as very optimistic. I like to see things from a different point of view other than mine. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes I like to think of myself as Olivia Pope in Scandal, how she gives people the benefit of the doubt in the beginning so she can get her process started.
Something I’ve been most proud of was graduating high school. It took me an extra year, but it was all worth it. And now I just recently applied to go back to school, to college.
Growing up in New York City life was always hard. Nothing was really handed to me. I always had to work hard. Through all the trials and tribulations I still ended up making my way to the top.
My main writing pieces are about what I’ve been through and how it challenged me and changed me.
My main goal is to be a small business owner and my dream is to be able to give back. I want to start as a nonprofit. I want to have these small care packages for women’s needs, men’s needs, children, and people could drop in if they need extra help.
I was first inspired by a video I came across on Facebook. A guy owned a pizzeria and every time someone was done they would put a post-it on the wall and someone could come in that was hungry or homeless and they would take off the post-it and they were able to get a slice of pizza.
I want people to notice me like I'm someone. I want to be able to read my name in magazines one day. Newspapers make a difference, so I guess I want people to look at me as a role model.”
New York, 2017