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'I like to help other people'

Smart and talented, Antanaya, 17, has many goals and dreams. She intends to go to college and then become a geriatric nurse. Her choice of career is a result of helping her grandfather before he died. She loved helping him. "But I like to help other people, too - a lot of people," she says.

Smart and talented, Antanaya, 17, has many goals and dreams. She intends to go to college and then become a geriatric nurse. Her choice of career is a result of helping her grandfather before he died. She loved helping him. "But I like to help other people, too - a lot of people," she says.

Antanaya enjoys dancing, listening to music, watching television, and spending time with her friends. She writes poetry to express her feelings. Enrolled in the 11th grade, she receives special-education services, and benefits from the small class size and individual attention. Her favorite class is math.

She recently had the opportunity to meet TNT Maddox, the first female Harlem Globetrotter in 20 years, at Temple University's Liacouras Center, and received basketball tips from her. Antanaya was delighted to meet this star who is an inspiration to so many girls.

Along with her career plans, Antanaya has another goal - to be adopted. She has definite ideas about a "forever" family. "I want a family that has one or two mothers, kids my age, and pets," she says. "I want a family that cares for me, who loves me for who I am, and will never abandon me."