Photo: NYC Department of Correction
Afrika Owes returned to Rikers Island in New York City -- this time as a lawyer, and not a prisoner. She was arrested at 17, and sentenced under the New York youthful offender program. Owes still remembers how terrified she felt then in 2011. Released after six months, she turned her life around, becoming a mom, going back to school, and graduating law school in May. She was invited by the New York City Department of Correction to speak to a group of about 15 young women. She will tell them: "Life isn't just linear. There's ups and downs, there's circles in it, and as long as you continue to choose hope, as long as you continue to believe in yourself and dream big, you can accomplish anything that you want to or close to it."
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