<b>By Hailey Boltin</b>

On Thursday, March 27, a group from the Department of Juvenile Justice located in Columbia, S.C., visited our school. The group is called “The Insiders” and is led by coordinator Charles Chandler.

After hearing their inspiring story at an anti-bullying summit in October, we invited The Insiders to our school to tell their motivating story. Each of the young men in the group described how they struggled with behavior and poor choices early in their life that eventually led to their incarceration until their 21st birthday. Each one of The Insiders then went on to describe how they turned their lives around and what they plan to do with their lives once they are released from the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Mr. Chandler summed up the meeting perfectly by stating, “You can’t change your past but you can change your future.”

Lady’s Island Middle is very thankful for the inspiring message from The Insiders.

<i>Hailey Boltin is a seventh grader at Lady’s Island Middle School.</i>