From Campus to Classroom: Stories That Shape Education
- Adopted by Kelly and Stanley Scruggs on February 27, 2020, giving her a stable, loving forever home.
- E'Maria earned the ACE Award, showcasing academic grit and determination to rewrite her own story.
- E'Maria will study social work at Augusta University, aiming to support youth from foster care and pursue a study abroad dream.
A local student preparing to graduate says the love of family and years of determination helped her overcome the challenges of the foster care system.
DUBLIN, Ga. — E’Maria Scruggs never thought she would make it.
For years, the 19-year-old bounced in and out of the foster care system, unsure of what her future held. However, as she prepares to walk across the graduation stage, she said the love of family and the support of those around her made all the difference.
It feels amazing to get this far and say that I finally made it,” Scruggs said. At a point in time, I never thought I would get here.
The road to graduation was not always smooth. Scruggs spent years in the foster care system before finding her forever home with Kelly and Stanley Scruggs, who officially adopted her on February 27, 2020 — Stanley’s birthday.
For Kelly Scruggs, the moment was an answered prayer. After struggling to get pregnant, she and her husband began the adoption process in late 2016. When the call came about E’Maria, Kelly never hesitated.
“It’s such a blessing,” Kelly Scruggs said. “She filled the void that I was missing. She did brighten up my day.”
Stanley Scruggs said the bond he and E’Maria share runs deeper than most people know. The two connected over a similar upbringing, and he said that connection became the foundation of their relationship.
“We have a bond that would not ever be changed,” Stanley Scruggs said. “She don’t know it, but I look up to her more than she looks up to me.”
Along the way, E’Maria earned the ACE Award, a recognition of her academic hard work and determination. Her mother Kelly said watching her daughter receive that honor was one of the proudest moments of her life.
“Her determination not to let her mom’s story be her same story,” Kelly Scruggs said. “I would tell her, write your own story, your story can be different. And now it is.”
As she prepares to graduate, E’Maria said she wants others who have walked a similar path to know they are not alone.
“Just because you think you’re alone doesn’t mean you’re alone,” she said. “People do love you, even if you may not see it.”
E’Maria plans to study social work at Augusta University in the fall, where she hopes to do social work. She said her experience in the foster care system gave her a unique perspective that she believes will help her connect with the people she one day serves.
“I know what they’re going through,” she said. “I know how it is to be away from your family and to adapt to a new environment.”
She also hopes to study abroad during her time in college, a dream she has carried with her throughout the application process.
For the Scruggs family, watching E’Maria reach this milestone is not just a celebration of one young woman’s achievements. It is a reminder of what is possible when people choose to show up for one another.
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