Larenzia Lawrence is an Atlanta native, with a heart to serve her city. She is a walking example of the work she and our team are doing, and a testament to God’s grace. Larenzia lost her father at a very young age causing her to go into deep depression/isolation and suffer from selective mutism. At the age of 13, she enrolled at The Piney Woods School, a boarding school in Mississippi. She stayed for 4 years learning about life skills and agriculture. Larenzia was given the opportunity to receive a scholarship that offered her a full ride at Mississippi Valley State University where she completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in Mass Communication/ Convergent Media. She’s also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. the first intercollegiate historically African American Greek-lettered sorority. Larenzia continued living the country girl life! Shortly after graduating she began working at S.V. Marshall Elementary School in Mississippi, teaching  Kindergarten and Middle School music. A year later, Larenzia was asked to return to Piney Woods and become the Stewardship Officer and 12th grade Literature teacher. Although she loved Mississippi, after being at Piney Woods for a year; she decided that she wanted a new environment with new opportunities. Larenzia moved back to Atlanta after being away for 10 years. Shortly after moving to Atlanta, she was given the opportunity to work for Kipp Woodson Park as the Operations Associate. Larenzia still didn’t feel that she was in the right place. She wanted to work at a place where she truly believed in their mission. She joined the PAWKids team so that she can be more of a resource for the scholars in the Grove Park community.