Vinceia Crittenden spoke with ease and confidence on Monday night as she told a room full of people munching on burgers about the bumpy acne that formerly covered her face.
With a beaming, radiant smile, Crittenden said it wasn’t until she started mentoring younger girls at the Boys & Girls Club of Chattanooga that she realized the insignificance of her acne.
“I have learned to walk with my head held high,” she said. ” … It took mentoring these kids to realize that what is inside is important.”
Crittenden, 17, is a junior at Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, and was the recipient of the Boys & Girls Club of Chattanooga’s annual Outstanding Leadership Award, now called the David Fussell Outstanding Leadership Award in honor of the club’s former board member who died in October.
In introducing Crittenden at the club’s annual awards ceremony and fundraiser, board member Elisabeth Donnovin told the group of more than 200 how difficult it was to choose the recipient of this year’s award.