Teenager Shaquana Gardner was presented with an honor this morning by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, in recognition of her academic accomplishments and inspiring life story. Gardner won a scholarship from the Henry Street Settlement, in part, for her moving essay describing her difficulties juggling multiple crises in her family with her first two years at Syracuse University. Gardner's essay was reprinted in the Daily News. She attended the recent NAACP Convention in New York, and was supposed to meet President Obama – but due to logistical problems – that didn't quite work out. Gardner is not letting that get her down, though. She's determined to, one day, be New York's first female African American mayor. This morning she picked up a key endorsement:
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
