Growing up in Red Hook, Brooklyn, I never imagined that one day I would return to my high school as a teacher. Yet here I am, a substitute teacher at Brooklyn Collaborative, the same school I graduated from in 2016. I am also pursuing a master’s degree in special education, with the goal of becoming an Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) educator and supporting students who, like me, have faced adversity.
My journey to this point has been anything but conventional. After graduating high school, I attended a college in upstate New York. It was supposed to be my fresh start, but instead, it became a period of struggle.
Without a support system in place, my mental health suffered. Eventually, I reached a breaking point and had to take a year off from school.
After leaving college, I found myself couch surfing with friends. For months, I had no stable housing. I wasn’t able to stay with family members due to strained relationships as I was navigating my identity as a bisexual woman.
In 2018, determined to take control of my future, I started looking for colleges again. I knew I needed to find a school that could support me holistically, ensuring higher education was both affordable and accessible. That’s when I found the University of Mount Saint Vincent (UMSV) in the Bronx and its Mott Street Scholarship Program, designed to support students like me who have faced homelessness or been in the foster care system.
It was life-changing. The scholarship provided me with full tuition coverage at UMSV, on-campus housing all year round, a meal plan, academic support and more.
More than that, it gave me a community—other students who had faced similar hardships and mentors who truly cared about my success. My professors pushed me to keep an open mind during my educational journey and when exploring my interests and potential career paths.
At UMSV, I pursued a bachelor’s degree in sociology, driven by a deep desire to understand the systems that shape our lives, particularly for children who’ve struggled in similar ways to me. During my final semester, I worked as a peer mentor and residential coach for UMSV’s Bridge program, a two-year immersive college program for students with developmental disabilities. This experience helped me uncover my passion for teaching young people with disabilities and influenced my career path.
I was the first in my family to graduate high school and college. But my time at UMSV wasn’t just about earning a degree, it was about building my future.
Now as an educator, I see echoes of my younger self in my students, who are growing up in the same Brooklyn community I was raised in. Many of them face struggles that go beyond the classroom—economic hardship, family instability and identity crises. I make it my mission to be the kind of support system I once needed.
But I wouldn’t be here without the Mott Street program. The scholarship provided stability, mentorship, and a sense of belonging to students who might otherwise not be able to pursue higher education.
For young people who have faced adverse childhood experiences—whether homelessness, foster care or family rejection—higher education can feel out of reach. But with the right support, it is possible not only to survive but to thrive.
As I continue my journey toward becoming a special education teacher, I hold onto the lessons I learned at UMSV. I dream of one day starting a nonprofit to support young people who, like me, have faced challenging childhoods. But for now, I am focused on making a difference in my classroom.
To any student out there who feels alone—I want you to know that there is hope. There are programs, mentors and communities that will believe in you, even when you struggle to believe in yourself. Take the opportunities that come your way and run with them. You are capable of achieving more than you ever imagined.
Diamond Martin is a Brooklyn resident and a substitute teacher at Brooklyn Collaborative.
