For the first fourteen years of her life, Tara Mishra lived with her family in Bhutanese Refugee Camp in Nepal. Then, ten years ago, she left the camp with her parents, three sisters, and younger brother to settle in Hartford, CT. Adjusting to dramatic differences in language and culture, Tara attended public school in Hartford and went on, with PowHERful’s support, to graduate from the University of Saint Joseph in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. “PowHERul means Resilient Me,” she says. “The Foundation has helped me financially and emotionally – I always felt supported.”

Ashley Thomas was born in New York City and raised in Virginia. “I spent my whole life planning to become a teacher. My paternal grandmother, a NYC public school teacher for 35 years, inspired me—she taught me to read and write, and I developed a love for reading that I wanted to instill in children.”

Ashley attended Hostos Community College, included childhood education in her studies….

“I am Deshawna Henry, a PowHERful scholar from the West Indies. In 2019, I earned my bachelor’s degree at Southern University and A&M College in Computer Science and Information Systems. Before graduation, I participated in the first IBM Blue Hackathon in Atlanta, GA, a 48-hour team building and software development competition for HBCUs. In 2020, I was recruited for an internship at IBM following the success of the Hackathon….

PowHERful scholars' cultural evening of Macbeth on Broadway was made complete by the gift of two books, both memoirs written by inspiring women whose successes have been won through character, conviction, and perseverance. These motivating reads are Sanya Richards-Ross's Chasing Grace and Bevy Smith's Bevelations.

On April 20th, three PowHERful scholars enjoyed an inspiring evening at the current Broadway production of Macbeth, starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga. All three expressed their gratitude to PowHERful and PowHERful’s generous sponsor, The Opportunity Network, for making their cultural outing possible.

Perseverance has served Paw K' Mwee well. A Dean’s List awardee this past semester for her outstanding academic achievements at the University of Saint Joseph, she says “I’m proud to be able to make it this far,” and “without PowHERful support and care I would not have been here today.”

For her brilliant academic performance, PowHERful scholarship recipient Sally Thomas made the Dean’s List at Lehman College (CUNY) this past semester.

Further, she’s been asked to be part of the college’s Mentor Collective. She’s excited to mentor new students and help them navigate college, from class selection, study and remote learning, to the personal challenges that will be inevitably faced.

“Reflecting on how the pandemic affected me is proving to be more difficult than expected. The first few months were terrifying and brought with it an enormous amount of anxiety, enlightenment, and curiosity. I was able to help care for ICU patients, in the trenches, for a very brief time during the first wave in New Orleans. That proved to me that I made a sound decision in advancing to become a nurse practitioner….

“COVID has impacted my life in several ways. From wearing masks all the time to practicing social distancing, one of the biggest ways COVID has impacted me was starting a job from home. My job would usually require me to drive every morning, and socialize with my coworkers. However, I have my own space at the comfort of my home, where we have occasional virtual meetings and I get up and stretch at any time. I can even play with my puppy!”

Sheba joined the #PowHERful Foundation in its early days. Today, Sheba shares how she was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This pandemic has really opened my eyes to how quickly things can change. Before the pandemic, gathering with friends and family was just an everyday part of life. I work in the news industry, and I love interviewing and interacting with people….

Before being connected with The PowHERful Foundation, I was willing to give up on my dreams and accept what life was handing me. I started college homeless, hungry, and fearful. Today, I have a great job, stable housing, and consuming healthy foods regularly. Now, I have the courage and support to break barriers and pursue whatever path I choose. Through financial support and mentorship, the Foundation has given me the tools needed to take my life into my own hands.

My name is Ashley T. I'm currently working on a bachelor's degree in social work. Spring 2021 is my last semester! I'm beyond excited. I'm looking forward to spending more time reading, journaling, and exercising. 

Being a college student has been really difficult for me with personal, professional, and financial problems intersecting with academic problems. As a requirement for graduation, I'm currently interning for a homeless shelter, Bronx Parent Housing Network/Promise Place. 

For the few of you thinking, “Who is Soledad O’Brien?”, (Where have you been?!), I’ll gladly introduce you! Soledad is an award-winning journalist, speaker, author, and philanthropist. You’ve seen her anchor on MSNBC and CNN, for sure. But, she also hosts the weekly public affairs talk program, Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, and is the founder/CEO of Starfish Media Group whose purpose is to uncover the most empowering stories happening today.

Sitting in Atlanta, GA at Spanx Headquarters in awe as Soledad O’Brien interviewed one of the most transformative business women I’ve ever met, I discovered 4 profound truths. Sara Blakely’s journey began in the most unlikely way and well before she founded Spanx. At 16, Sara’s best friend was killed by a car right in front of her while they were riding their bikes. Compounding the loss of her best friend, her parents divorced as well. To help her cope through the loss and the divorce, her father gave her a set of cassettes that completely changed the trajectory of her life.

If you don’t know the incomparable Soledad O’Brien, you better ask somebody! Better yet, allow us a moment to tell you who she is. O’Brien is an award-winning journalist, founder/CEO of Starfish Media Group and anchor of Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien. You may recognize her face as a former anchor on MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and HBO or her active Twitter fingers. One thing everyone knows about her is that she is not afraid to speak her mind and chase facts.

Soledad O’Brien knows how to multi-task. She currently serves as the CEO of Starfish Media Group, hosts her own show, Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, and she’s the co-founder of the PowHerful Foundation, which aims to give financial assistance, mentorship, and support to young women so they can get through college and explore career options.

Ringing the closing bells were Charah Solutions at the New York Stock Exchange and PowHerful Foundation at the Nasdaq.

Fifth grader Naomi Wadler delivered an electrifying speech at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., last month, calling attention to the lack of national news coverage and empathy for black women who are victims of gun violence. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, black women are three times as likely to be killed with a gun as white women. The Lily caught up with the 11-year-old activist on Saturday after she spoke at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a part of Soledad O’Brien’s PowHerful summit, which 165 girls and young women attended.

Tassion Minor was gearing up for her upcoming summer internship in New York City when she realized she didn’t have many office-ready outfits in her closet at home in New Orleans. “I was being exposed to different professional opportunities, many of which required me to dress in business attire, but at the time my wardrobe was lacking in that,” Minor, who was 19 at the time, said. “And money was also tight.”

NEW YORK— Smart and courageous, Soledad O’Brien rose to national fame on “Weekend Today” in the late 1990’s.

She then built her career over the next 14 years.

“I will always be a journalist. I love reporting stories. You know, journalism has changed a lot, I think a lot of the tenets stayed the same, but journalism has changed. We’re really sort of in the business of creating content,” O’Brien explained.

And a change in the business brought a change in O’Brien, you could say.