Transcript
What inspires you from WFSU Public Media? Here's this week's Voices That Inspire. I'm Courtney Atkins, and I'm the Executive Director of Whole Child Leon and the South City Foundation. I was born in Tallahassee, one of seven children. I think that has played a role in where I am in life and how I think about life because I was always, one of seven, the mom comes in with the Oreos and everybody's grabbing them. I wanna be fair and get my part. So it's really about equity all the time. Maybe that's part of what got me here. I went away for college and my first career was owning a restaurant that I worked in, bought it when I was 21. It was clear to me before even owning the first restaurant and then the second. I've always loved working with kids and being a big sister in college. I really was fascinated by the psychology of all that happens to children and people and how they end up where they end up, circumstance, nature, nurture, all of that. So when I was able to sell the restaurant, I decided I wanted to go into counseling, get my master's degree and really start helping them that way. Because I, as a single mom, having a good job and great support from the big family here back in Tallahassee and all my friends that really were like a tribe that helped me support my kids as far as like events and just being helpful. I think about those parents that I work with, you know, and see every day that don't have half of that and they still manage and they're riding the bus and switching buses twice to get to a job and in the rain and can be so resilient. And that's what you want to look at and foster and figure out how can we make more of our families and children get them in a position that they can be resilient. I'm Courtney Atkins and I'm the executive director of Whole Child Leon and the South City Foundation. You're listening to voices that inspire.