Breaking Barriers to Become Red Shield Youth Center’s Student of the Year
Imagine a child's first day in a new after-school program. Everything feels new, emotions run high, and the child worries about fitting in and making new friends. Now, consider the added challenge of a language barrier. This was the reality for Yassmine Moujahid as a kindergartener.
Like many other families, Moujahid and her brother attended Sedgefield’s Red Shield Youth Center for its affordable after-school care, a program that helped their parents but hindered Moujahid.
“I was a closed-off child,” says Moujahid. “I didn’t make many friends because I struggled with the language barrier, which was a huge problem.”
Moujahid grew up speaking Arabic and French, leaving her behind in English during grade school, something assistant director Fred Williams noticed while she was doing her homework. So, Williams did what any other staff member would do at the Red Shield Youth Center and started tutoring Moujahid in reading. They began by reading simple books with pictures, like Dr. Seuss, then moved to chapter books and progressed until she was comfortable reading on her own.
“When working at the Center, they teach you to always be inclusive,” says Williams. “So, I made it my mission to get her to where everybody else was so she could have a fair chance of being at the Center.”
12 years later, Moujahid blossomed into a confident, friendly and selfless teen. She is a senior at Harper Middle College High School, concurrently earning her high school diploma and an associate’s degree in science through Central Piedmont Community College. Moujahid is involved in several clubs at school, including the International Student Organization, National Honors Society, and Student Council. She was also named the Red Shield Youth Center’s Student of the Year and awarded a college scholarship from the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary.
Moujahid enjoys spending her afternoons at Sedgefield’s Red Shield Youth Center. She speaks highly of the program and explains how it has shaped her into the person she is today through lessons, programs and volunteerism.
“It gives you the opportunity to know people and make friends,” says Moujahid. “After school, you get your homework done, have snack time, and participate in a lot of activities. It’s a lot of fun!”
Outside of school, Moujahid is a barista at Waterbean Coffee Shop and participates in a volunteer program at Atrium Health. She loves puzzles, listening to R&B and French music, dancing, and hanging out with her family and friends. She aspires to be a dentist and wants to open her own practice in the future.
Williams played a huge role in Moujahid's upbringing at Sedgefield Red Shield Youth Center, teaching her to read while instilling advice and lessons she can use throughout life.
“My goal when I first started at the Youth Center was for all my kids that I started with, who were in kindergarten at the time, to graduate,” says Williams. “Not only to graduate, but to become the model citizens that I know they can be.”
As Moujahid approaches high school graduation and ages out of the Red Shield Youth Center, she cherishes her last moments as a student, spending all her free time in her busy schedule hanging out with Williams and the rest of the Sedgefield staff.
Although Williams may be sad she’s leaving, he’s proud and knows Moujahid will have no problem conquering anything she puts her mind to.