Uncrowned Community Builders

My mom Teraza Mnwal is my uncrowned queen. She was born in Africa. She was born into a family of five. She has three sisters and one brother. My mom lived only with her mother because her father died from gun violence when she was a young girl.

My mom did not get an education when she was young because she had to take care of her sick mother. My mother was the oldest child in her family so she had to take care of her younger siblings. She always did a great job at taking care of them. My mom got married and had four children in Africa.

When I turned eight years old, my mother wanted me and my sisters to get a good education so she brought us to the United States. My mother now has eight children and is a single mother. My mother cares a lot about our school work. Education is the most important thing to her. She makes sure we get to school on time. When I am having a hard time hi school, she tells my teachers to give me a little more help and they do.

My mother takes us to church every Sunday for Mass and on every Saturday for bible classes. My mom is a very hard worker. She goes to work at ten o'clock at night and comes home at eight o'clock in the morning. After my mom comes home from work, she takes my two youngest sisters to daycare. What I most admire about my mother is that she is full of wisdom. A good example of that is when my pastor asked me to be in the choir I was very nervous. She told me I would do just fine and I did.

My mother is a very religious person. She gets up every morning and reads the Bible. My mother goes to school every Tuesday. She goes to the International Institute to improve her English Language Skills. My mom volunteers at my church, Holy Angels. My mom also has a job. When my mom gets her pay check, she buys me and my sisters all the things we need for school. After my mother buys us the things we need, she sends some of her money back to my grandmother back in Africa.

When I grow up I want to be just like my mother because she is a beautiful and independent person. My mother is my role model. I want to be just like her because she is a kind and loving mother.



3rd Place, Grades 7-9
Tina Akaic
Grade 7, C.C. St. Monica