On February 12, 2018, when Mersadies Shantie was 12 years old, her mom suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. That night, still stunned from the loss, Mersadies left her home in Mooers Forks, New York, and moved to Sheldon, Vermont, to live with her dad, stepmom and three adopted sisters. “It was…

I’ve always loved to learn, but I never thought I would go to college. As a teen, I was more interested in getting out into the working world, and once I’d established a successful career, I thought, why would I need to go to college now? But as I got deeper into my chosen field of birth and…