SCO Family of Services awards 2014 Pat Brown Scholarship to Lataysha Moore

In her last year of high school, Bushwick senior Lataysha Moore excelled, despite having to cope with a lot more than the usual hurdles involved in graduating and getting into college. In recognition of her achievements, Lataysha was awarded the Pat Brown Scholarship at SCO’s Fashion Show benefit on May 7th. The annual scholarship is given to a young person in an SCO program who has overcome obstacles to achieve academic success.

In July, 2013, Lataysha and her mother, brother (11) and sister (6) found themselves homeless after her mother lost her job as a home health aide. The family moved from Albany to New York City and moved into the SCO Family of Services-run Flushing Family Residence last August.

Despite the difficulties of changing high schools, moving and living surrounded by strangers in a shelter, Lataysha excelled as a student at Brownsville Academy High School and participated in an after-school club called “Best Buddy,” where she mentored Joseph, a boy her age with a developmental disability. She graduated early from Brownsville Academy in March and is studying for her SATs in June. With the help of the staff at Flushing, she’s applying to colleges and for scholarships and financial aid. Lataysha hopes to attend Howard University in the fall and would like to become an anesthesiologist. “I want to help people,” she said, “I want to help them forget about their pain.”

Her drive to succeed comes from watching her mother struggle, Lataysha said. “I really want to be successful and make sure my family is well cared for. You go through so much. You don’t want to see your siblings go through it.”

In addition to helping Lataysha through the college application process, Flushing Family Residence provides an after-school program that her younger siblings attend. SCO staff are also helping her mother seek employment and search for permanent housing.

More from the 2014 SCO Fashion Show event: http://sco.org/2014-sco-fashion-show-draws-400-supporters