Sha-Toya Lewis

“It made me realize that I want to head in the direction of providing much-needed support in uplifting lives.” 

As the valedictorian of her class at Culinary Arts Academy, Sha-Toya Lewis has a lot to be proud of. She has an impressive academic record, gives back to her community and will be attending the University of Connecticut - Hartford Campus to study business administration next year. She credits her teacher, Mr. Williams, and Malcolm X with teaching her valuable lessons that have impacted not only her academic success, but outlook on life. Sha-Toya cares about the people around her. She demonstrates this with her community service and choice of study in college. Ultimately, she hopes to run a shelter for battered women and children. She describes her hope for them best when she says “specifically, I hope to enable them to change the pattern of poverty and abuse and create a better future for themselves.” Not only does she care about those around her and the problems they face, but she takes an intellectual approach to helping them. Although Sha-Toya plans to major in social work, she acknowledges the importance of being multidisciplinary in order to be best informed and make the biggest impact. Her passion for those around her and intellectual approach, along with her resilience make Sha-Toya a perfect person to truly make a change.