Mya Marshall

Atlanta, Georgia (Senate District 35)

There are some letters that change your life. Mya Marshall will never forget the day she got the letter that let her know she’d been accepted at Roosevelt Warm Springs. She’d been out of high school for a while, working at a hotel, and life was fine. Ok, really. Still, she wanted more. 

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Mya Marshall is a twenty-year-old woman from Atlanta, Georgia. She was born 1.3 pounds at 23 weeks. According to her mother, Keisha, who works in medical billing, Mya was a “miracle baby,” because she was told Mya would not live through that first night. Instead, Mya continued to fight against all odds to stay alive. It was indeed an uphill battle. She had blood on her brain, had to stay in the hospital for the first six months of her life, and came home from the hospital still on oxygen for a while. Mya didn’t begin walking until she was two and didn’t speak in complete sentences until she was five. Keisha gives a lot of credit to the Babies Can’t Wait program for early interventions that improved Mya’s outcomes. She had physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy up until she was about to start high school.

From Mya’s perspective, high school was a goodtime in her life. “I have a lot of good memories about it. I just didn't really like the classes that were kind of hard, but some of them were a little too easy for me. Because I have a disability. I used to do chorus. I used to love singing a lot. I still do to this day.” Mya took special education classes but participated in mainstream elective activities like chorus. As a result, she had a lot of friends, most of whom did not have disabilities.

In the years since she graduated from college, she’s been missing her friends who’ve moved on to college or other jobs. Mya’s life was languishing a bit. While she worked at the hotel, and tried a different job training program in Atlanta, Keisha simply didn’t feel like Mya was thriving. She wanted her daughter to have the college experience. To be quite frank, because Mya’s an only child, she wanted her to explore her independence and have an opportunity to separate from her mom a little bit.

For the past eighteen weeks, Mya has been studying CVS Retail Management at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Vocational Rehabilitation Campus(RWS). CVS Retail Management is one of six tuition-free pathways students at Roosevelt Warm Springs can apply for, including auto detailing, hospitality, forklift / warehouse logistics, low voltage wiring, and certified nursing assistant.

After Mya got her letter saying she’d been accepted to RWS in early December, she had about a month to prepare for her semester in Warm Springs. She says it was an exciting time. She and her mom spent lots of time talking through the clothes she would pack, what she would leave behind. Mya lives in an apartment-style dormitory with a shared living room that connects to her roommate’s bedroom. The two come and go without seeing each other much, but this is dorm life!

In her classes, Mya learns the ins and outs of retail management so that, when she graduates in just a few weeks, she’ll be well-prepared to go straight into a position when she moves back home. Thanks to the partnership with CVS, students are able to train both in a classroom laboratory set up exactly like a CVS where they learn to stock, keep their rows tidy, scan, check out, etc. They also go to work at an actual CVS nearby three times per week.

Although Mya has very much enjoyed her time training in the retail program, she is strongly considering a return to Warm Springs next semester to pick up additional training in hospitality. It only makes sense as she was already working in hotels before she came here. Mya had switched her focus to retail because she felt she wanted to learn something new and different. However, as she’s come to understand a little bit more about the hospitality track, she thinks that could be a great addition to her portfolio.

According to Amanda Green, one of the instructors in soft skills and resumé building at Warm Springs, not all students would be allowed to come back for a second major. However, Mya has been an absolutely top tier, exemplary, very motivated young woman. Everyone can see that she would maximize that opportunity. Todd McRae, Assistant Director of Residential Services, grew up hanging out at RWS because his childhood best friend’s father was a speech therapist on campus. After spending a few decades working in public schools, he transitioned to his position last year. Between his long history with the place and working with young people like Mya, Todd says, “This is kinda home for me.” Amanda and Todd both mention how very shy–maybe a little homesick and overwhelmed–Mya was in the first few weeks when she began her studies. Yet, she so quickly adjusted to becoming just a model student amongst her peers.

As for Keisha’s hopes for Mya about independence and “the college lifestyle,” Mya certainly has blossomed in the time she’s been here. From living in the dorm to hanging out with friends in the recreation center to watch movies, from navigating the labyrinthine complex of buildings and schedules to deciding what’s next for her professionally, Mya has risen to and surpassed it all.

If Mya had an opportunity to speak with a legislator, she would ask them, “What makes you want to support people with disabilities?” It’s a great question. Think about the story you just read, the promise therein, all the places along the way that programs and interventions can change a life–why wouldn’t you want to fund a program or offer some support that leads to a person with a disability living independently in their community? It wasn’t just one acceptance letter that changed Mya’s life after all. There were many.

Writer: Shannon M. Turner Photographer: Jessica Whitley