From the Philadelphia Tribune:
2016 MSW graduate Cordelia Cranshaw was crowned Miss District of Columbia USA in December, yet her road to queen was not easy. Having already worked to empower young people through her own story and growth, Cranshaw is now using her platform to further inspire others.
Cranshaw, is one out of 18 siblings from Alexandria, Va.; however, life was not always one with a big happy family.
“My mother was sentenced to 10 years in prison when I was 12 and my father was a struggling alcoholic,” Cranshaw, 26, told the Afro. This resulted in me entering the foster care system and aging out at the age of 21.”
Just five years ago, Cranshaw was in the foster care system, and now she has dedicated her work to helping children who face some of the issues she did as a child. She works as an education specialist at D.C. Child and Family Services and has her own organization that assists youth traditionally considered, “at risk,” by providing them tools to make it beyond their current struggles.