Athenia entered foster care at 10 and has spent 6 years in Kentucky’s foster care system. She has experienced multiple placements including foster care and kinship care. Athenia is passionate about changing the foster care system to be more inclusive of youth voice as she felt hers was taken away. She works on her local youth advisory board, Voice of the Commonwealth, to increase youth voice within Kentucky. As a part of the board she also participates on the planning committee for an annual youth conference. Although her foster care experience has caused difficulties in school, she has overcome them and currently has a 3.95 GPA. She intends to join the military after graduating college and eventually become a detective.
