Goodwill 50th Anniversary: The people who make the mission worth doing.

Anisia Paz is on a mission.

She is 17, and that mission is to make sure her new baby boy is going to be able have a good life, where he won’t have to grow up as quickly as she did. To do this, she is working on getting her High School Diploma at Goodwill’s Metro Youth Program on 4th Ave. By taking her courses with Grad Solutions, she is able to earn her High School Diploma at her own pace, with one-on-one tutoring and work at the same time.

At 13, Anisia was hanging out with older people on the streets. While she did some things she wasn’t supposed to, she ultimately learned that it wasn’t going to get her anywhere. “I believe I was meant to have a baby at a young age. God just wanted me to grow up fast and realize the world. I think everything is a lesson…Lesson learned.”

Anisia first started with the Metro Program in February 2017 after she rotated out of 3 different high schools. She was introduced to Metro by an old friend and while it took a year to step through the doors, she’s very glad she did. With Metro’s help, she was able to find a job and connect with community resources that could help her through her pregnancy.

She wants to be a Chef or a Youth Probation Officer. While on different ends of the service spectrum, she thinks that maybe she could marry the two and find a way to help youth and feed them at the same time. She is also active in Youth Violence Prevention, and volunteers at different Metro events.

Her advice to other young adults: “The only way to get to where you want to be is to help yourself first…you need to learn how to change your ways in order to achieve the goals you want.”