Local Video
|
| Gjeni's story: Change comes one person at a time |
By: By SUZANNE ROOK, Senior Reporter
|
Posted: Tuesday, July 8, 2008 10:01 pm
|
 Email  Print
|
NORTHFIELD — Gjeni Stark sees herself as three different people.
There’s Jennifer Nall, the toddler who was dropped into foster care when her junkie parents were imprisoned; Jenny Vagt, abused by her adoptive parents and compelled at 15 to testify against the father who violated her; and Gjeni, the girl who changed her name at 18, looking to shed the last vestige of someone she no longer was — or wanted to be.
It wasn’t until Gjeni, 25, met Mary Nelson, the woman she calls her mother, that Gjeni saw her worth.
She credits this community with raising her up and encouraging her when she easily could have followed the lead of her parents: drugs, specifically heroin, and prison.
As a child, Gjeni craved an idealized, storybook version of family, but instead found unconditional love from Mary, a single mom with a large, ever-expanding brood.
“When I moved in with Mary,” she said, “from the very first day, it was like it was meant to be. She symbolized everything I wanted in a family.”
In her teens, Gjeni got involved with The Northfield Union of Youth, Community Services and Youth Plus. Members of the community, she said, all played important roles in helping her become the woman she is today, always encouraging, guiding her along the way.
It’s something she now does for others.
This past year, Gjeni served as Northfield Middle School’s Promise Fellow, working with students to assure academic success and connection to the community, all while completing her final year in college and parenting her 3-year-old, Zach. She’s considering grad school and hopes to counsel school-age kids.
Staying clean for Gjeni was a conscious choice. An easy one, she said.
“I knew what could come out of it and I wanted a better life and I knew that wasn’t going to get me to it,” she said.
— Suzanne Rook can be reached at srook@northfieldnews.com or 645-1113. |
|
|
|
Story Comment Guidelines:
Registered members who identify themselves by name are authorized to automatically post comments to stories. Readers who wish to remain anonymous submit comments to a pending queue, where they will be reviewed for approval within 24 hours of their submission. To determine the author of a comment, click on the user name.
Those who identify themselves will be given broader boundaries to express their opinion. Only those anonymous comments that contribute to the conversation in a thoughtful, respectful, civil manner will be approved. The decision to approve or reject a comment is a subjective one and is ours alone. Authors of rejected comments will receive an email response.
If you would like to report abuse click here to notify us.
|
|
| Show Comments | Hide Comments
|
|
| Login and voice your opinion!
|
|
|
|
|
Top Jobs | Top Homes | Top Cars
09 Jetta
09 white Jetta asking $16,000
less than 48,000 miles
|
|
Digg
Del.icio.us
Facebook
MySpace
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!
