ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP ALUMNAE

Courtney Brownlee is a first-generation college student and graduated from Belmont Abbey College with her B.S. in Nursing in May of 2025..  Brownlee works full-time at Victorious Home Healthcare and lives with her family in Gastonia. She attended ECPI University after high school and received her LPN, Brownlee wants her three children to go after what they want: “If you want it, aspire to achieve it.”  With this degree she hopes to earn more money to provide further for her family including her extended family. She also hopes to buy a home.

Ashley Davis graduated in December of 2024 with her B.A. in  Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Psychology, Ashley Davis is a wife and mother of two daughters, ages 8 and 12  and a one year old son.. Davis always had a desire for higher education but didn’t know which field to pursue until now.

Her youngest daughter, on the verge of turning 2, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2017.  After countless treatments, her daughter is now cancer-free.

This traumatic experience, along with a fond memory from her teenage years of helping to care for an older relative, ignited Davis’ passion for helping others. She decided to return to school to seek a career where she can assist, encourage, and love people. 

Tania Guinyard graduated from UNC Charlotte in December 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology.  Guinyard works full-time as an operations analyst for AvidXchange.  She earned an associate degree following high school but found out soon after that she was pregnant. She took time off to be a mom.

Guinyard wants to be a model of fulfilling her dreams for her son. Though her parents worked hard when she was growing up, life was a struggle financially.  “I don’t want my life to look like that,” she says. “I hope to show my son that when you set your mind to something you see it through to the end.”

Guinyard’s parents were also teenagers when she was born. She says that family was her rock. She wants to be that for her children, and for them to know that the possibilities for their lives are endless.

Bria Lindsay is a single mother of three, She graduated from Johnson C. Smith University in May 2025 with a B.S. in Social Work. Lindsay works full-time at the Department of Social Services.

Lindsay had a hard childhood, growing up with an addicted mother and a mostly absent father. At 13, she says, she lost sight of school. It took having children for her to realize she needed a better education. Lindsay hopes to eventually earn a master’s degree and make a difference by helping young girls understand and cope with life’s challenges. She tells her children that education not only helps you and your family, but your community, too.  Lindsay and her family live in Mint Hill.

Toni Moss lives with her 3 children in Ballantyne.  She graduated from UNC Charlotte with a B.S. in Communications. Becoming a mother as a teen forced her to make many adult decisions.  Those experiences, along with a pregnancy support group that introduced her to mentors, were the jump start she needed to begin her college journey. It took 12 years with some starts and stops.  But Moss never forgot the look in her mentor’s eyes when her mentor told her, “I believe in you.”

Moss holds an associate degree in hospitality management.  The pandemic forced her to think more broadly about her future.   She now works full-time at Raytheon Technologies and part-time as an event planner for Elevated Living.   Moss wants to be the catalyst for generational wealth and stability for her children. “I want my children to know it is worth every obstacle, every tear, and every late night to achieve this major life accomplishment,” she says.  She hopes to one day own a restaurant and event management company.

At 21, Lauren Reese gave birth to her daughter. Every decision she has made since becoming a single mother has been done with her daughter's future in mind. She is determined not to become another statistic.

Reese graduated in May of 2025 from Johnson C. Smith University with her B.S. in Social Work. She hopes to become a mental health therapist and own a childcare center. Reese currently works at Mad Science in Charlotte, which provides science experiences for children. She and her daughter live in west Charlotte.

Reese wants to teach her daughter that education is important and anything worth having is worth the hard work it takes to get it.

Takeia Reid is a single mom to a 14-year-old son. Reid graduated from Carolinas College of Health Sciences in May of 2025 with her Associate Degree in Nursing. This will be her second degree as she holds an Associate Degree in Medical Assisting from Gaston College.

Reid currently works full-time in outpatient services for Advocate Health’s internal medicine division and hopes to pursue a career that keeps her in internal medicine. She sees this degree as another steppingstone in her career journey. Reid wants her son to understand that learning is a lifelong process. The family lives in Gastonia.

Amy Roberts lives with her husband David and three children in Matthews. She graduated from UNC Charlotte with her B.S. in Psychology in December of 2024. She ultimately hopes to earn a master's degree in counseling and become a school counselor. Roberts works full-time for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as an exceptional child teaching assistant.

Her interest in psychology and counseling stems from her father's death when she was four to bipolar disorder.  Roberts was pulled out of school in eighth grade. She lacked formal education until the age of 17 when she studied and earned her GED. Roberts took the next step and immediately enrolled in community college but left the following year to marry and start building a photography business to help support her family. Once she began having children, her college education was put on hold until now.

Roberts says ANSWER Scholarship has truly opened doors for her and her family that she didn't think possible. She is glad she took the leap and trusted in herself since she was the only thing holding herself back.

RaeDeja Sawyer, is a mother of four and two bonus children. She obtained her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in professional writing and rhetoric from Queens University in May of 2025.

Sawyer pursued a college education at the traditional age for one semester, but her father's illness required her to return home to help her mother care for him. Her dad always emphasized education, specifically for women, saying it fostered independence. Even in his final days, he urged her to get her degree. Sawyer enrolled in CPCC just two months after his passing and earned an associate degree with a focus on criminal justice and psychology.

Sawyer wants her children to see that education not only can maximize their own growth and development, but also can help them strengthen the lives around them and build up successful communities. Upon graduation, she plans to enter law school or earn a master’s in public administration or public policy.