Biography
Shanderrick Williams (August 28, 1991-) was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was the first son of Sharon Williams and Cornell Henry. Shanderrick's mother was a heavy drug user and his father was an alcoholic. Like many children today he was birthed out of wedlock while his mother was only seventeen and his father only eighteen. Still kids themselves it was almost impossible for them to provide for him and give Shanderrick the nurturing support he needed to become his best self. Shanderrick never lived with his father and in result of his absence he initially was not taught the deeds of a man nor how to become successful in America. Many nights he went without food and a stable home. His mother later became incarcerated which nearly resulted in him being placed in foster care. That was before his grandparents took on the responsibilty to raise him. His grandmother taught him how to pray and to trust in God with all his heart. She also placed him in the Young Leaders Academy which nurtures the development of leadership abilities of young African American males. Many people told Shanderrick he would drop out of school because all five of his first cousins had done so. Defeating all odds he became the first person in his family to gradute from high school, and to receive full scholarships to many of the best colleges in the United States- two of them Morehouse College and Louisiana State University. Shanderrick lives by the qoute from Epictetus, "It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."
