Standing at 5 feet, 9 inches, with a slender silhouette, a strikingly beautiful face, and a crown atop her head, Mam Adjei is the classic image of Miss Maryland USA.

Adjei, 23, decided to compete in the Miss Maryland pageant because she wanted a platform to speak about her experiences and inspire young girls to be courageous. She came to RHS on Feb. 13 to speak to a group of girls, some from the AVID program and some from a mentor group.

The daughter of a diplomat, Adjei was born in the U.S.A, but spent part of her early childhood in Switzerland and Ghana. At the age of nine, Adjei’s parents decided it would be best for her to stop traveling with them. From then on, she lived with her aunt and uncle in the U.S.A who were sometimes neglectful.

“I literally had to learn to be my own navigator, my own support system, and my own motivation a�� Imagine for sports games how your parent come and cheer you on, I didn’t have that,” Adjei said. “I was basically raised over the phone.”

Adjei was a cheerleader at Spring Brook HS. She lived in a bad neighborhood where her aunt was robbed at gun point. She lived under constant fear of getting shot or robbed, but she wanted more and she focused her efforts on that.

“There is more to life than what you are being exposed to so always seek more and don’t feel limited by your circumstance,” Adjei said to the girls.

From there, Adjei went on to Virginia Common Wealth University where she worked three jobs to pay tuition. She majored in Political Science and African American Studies with a minor in Business and graduated last year.

Adjei spoke to the class about being passionate and motivated in life and trying new things. She had dialogue with students about what motivates them and what courage means to them.

“I think courage is even when you’re afraid, you still have the guts to try,” one of the girls in the class said.

Adjei hopes to be a good example to students and empower them to follow their passions. She will compete in the Miss USA pageant this summer.

Administrator Michelle Sobers, who created the mentor group, was very pleased to see Adjei come speak.

“It’s just so nice for the girls to hear from someone whose story is so positive,” Sobers said.