AFJ Participants, Brianna and Shania, celebrate receiving their diplomas and officially graduating from high school, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter together for both.

As graduation season arrives at Avenues for Justice (AFJ), we're celebrating the incredible accomplishments of our graduating Participants. Over the coming weeks, we'll be highlighting our young people who are taking their next steps toward college, careers, and brighter futures.

We're kicking things off with Brianna and Shania, two best friends whose journey together started long before AFJ. When life brought them both through AFJ’s doors in search of employment, educational opportunities, and a brighter future, they found more than our HIRE Up program. They found new experiences, new friendships and a community that helped prepare them for what comes next.

A Friendship, Years in the Making

Some friendships are built to last, and Brianna and Shania's is one of them. Friends since high school, they've encouraged one another through life's challenges, celebrated each other's successes, and grown stronger together.

That journey continued when they both found their way to AFJ. As a Preventive Participant, Brianna was referred by her employer, who connected her with AFJ’s Job Developer, Shantel Brooks last year September. Shania soon followed suit and together they embraced every opportunity AFJ’s HIRE Up program had to offer and became two of our most engaged and dedicated Participants.

Through AFJ's workforce development program the pair completed an internship placement together at AFJ’s business partner, Yummy Tummy's Kitchen. Working side by side, they discovered a shared interest in culinary arts and the business behind it while gaining valuable workplace experience and creating memories they'll carry with them into the future.

"One of the biggest skills I've learned is patience. I've learned how to work with and manage different types of people in the workplace because of my HIRE Up internship."

~ AFJ Participant Shania

A Milestone Worth Celebrating

Last week, Brianna and Shania graduated from high school together, celebrating a milestone years in the making and closing one chapter as they prepare to begin another.

For Shania, AFJ became a place filled with opportunity, connection, and growth. Looking back, she describes her experience as fun - a chance to learn alongside her friends while discovering new possibilities for her future.

For Brianna, graduation represented far more than earning a diploma. It was the culmination of years of hard work, perseverance, and determination. Along the way, she learned to balance school, work, and personal responsibilities while staying focused on her goals, even during moments when the path ahead felt overwhelming.

"Graduating from high school means reaching a milestone that reflects years of hard work, growth, and perseverance. It's proof that I stayed committed to my goals despite obstacles, and it marks the beginning of a new chapter where I can continue pursuing my education and gaining more experiences and knowledge."

~ AFJ Participant Brianna

The Next Chapter

This fall, Brianna and Shania will continue their journey together at Brooklyn College. Brianna plans to study Public Accounting and Finance, while Shania will pursue a degree in Business Administration.

It's fitting that two friends who entered AFJ together, learned together, interned together, and graduated together will now begin college side by side as well.

Looking back, it's easy to see how far they've come. What began as two friends searching for opportunity became a journey marked by new experiences, meaningful mentorship, and the confidence to imagine even bigger futures. Today, they're not only high school graduates - they're college-bound young women ready to take on whatever comes next.

Congratulations, Brianna, Shania, and the entire AFJ Class of 2026!