Rianna Madden

Rianna Madden, St. Joan Antida High School Boys & Girls Club

High School: Saint Joan Antida High School

Tentative College Choice: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Anticipated Career Choice: Political Science

“The Club is my home outside of home, the father I really never had and the help with dreams that I want to accomplish.”

Rianna is one of eleven children and sometimes feels obligated to be the one in her family to succeed from challenges she has faced. She leads by example and actively participates in many community activities. In addition to the many responsibilities she takes on at home, she maintained her position on her high school honor roll, participated in Boys & Girls Clubs activities and acted as a role model for those around her. After dealing with some personal issues that almost took her permanently out of high school, Rianna received a second chance and used it to help young women with anger management.

Boys & Girls Clubs gave her an outlet to deal with real issues that she faced in her life. It’s where Rianna began to take her future seriously. She is one of the founding members of Saint Joan Antida High School Boys & Girls Club; she helped hire the Club Manager and came up with ideas for programs that would encourage her peers to attend. Since she enjoys leading discussions relevant to teen and world issues, she frequently co-facilitated Real Talk sessions with other Club members.

In school, she was vice president of her senior class and developed the innate ability to lead her peer groups: she was active in Mock Trial, played varsity basketball and participated in the Fast-a-thon (an activity to promote awareness of Muslim students and their faith). As a school ambassador, Rianna helped freshmen get acquainted and used to the idea of being in an all-girl setting. In the spring she hosted a conference for teens to inspire them not to become teen moms. At the conference, Rianna released her poetry book with proceeds going to organizations that help support teen mothers.

Moving forward, Rianna wants to make a positive impact on the world. She was chosen for Stein Scholars, a program that assists her in pursuing her goal of graduating college. Her long-term goal is to become a district attorney, and to be the first female President of the United States. She also desires to become a wife and be a role model for her children. “My focus is my future family,” Rianna acknowledges, “And becoming the first in my family to graduate college.”