Fitch student becomes success story

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Neighbors | Submitted.Stroud is pictured here during her trip to Washington D.C.

Austintown Fitch Junior, Melissa Stroud, knows what it means to overcome the odds.

Stroud is a student currently in the foster care system having been taken in by an Austintown family this year. Prior to being placed with a family, Stroud was in a youth group home where she was elected into office by a group of her peers to serve as the media spokesperson for the Ohio Youth Advisory Board. Stroud was chosen for this opportunity due to her leadership skills, maturity and strong sense of responsibility.

The Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board is an organization of young people who have experienced foster care. It exists to be the knowledgeable statewide voice that influences policies and practices that affect all youth who have or will experience out-of-home care.

From March 13-17, Stroud participated in Three Days on the Hill, which is an annual educational trip to Washington D.C. designed to provide foster care youth and alumni with opportunities to further their leadership development. Six youth from the state were able to participate, and Stroud was placed on the short list of pre-approved attendees.

During the trip, Stroud participated in a full day of training along with a meeting at the Housing and Urban Development headquarters. In addition, she also attended a meeting with 15 different legislators to discuss how to end the foster care to homeless pipeline and how to effectively prepare youth in foster care to build successful adult lives. Lisa Dickson, Communications Chair at ACTION Ohio, said she took the training very seriously and excelled during both meetings.

After a long week of representing the Ohio Youth Advisory board, Stroud returned to school on March 18 for yet another accomplishment. She came back from D.C just in time to be inducted into the Austintown Fitch National Honor Society. Students selected for NHS are voted in by their teachers for demonstrating excellence in scholarship, service, leadership and character.