Semester two #2

Late one morning in December, a blond woman in a perfectly matching black suit and leather high heeled boots walked from behind her desk to greet her two new high-school interns that sit anxiously in the cold waiting room near a plug-in portable heater that makes a low hum surrounding the quite office. She introduces herself as Stacy Everson, and invites the two young girls into her office, which is an organized mess. Papers and a large 12-month calendar cover the entirety of the desk where she works. Stacy seems to know exactly where everything is placed as she reaches for a pen underneath a pile of papers while she mumbles comments under her breath. The high-school students nervously laugh. They then hand their résumés to their new, stiff postured mentor who immediately places them on her desk and starts jotting down notes about what they will be doing during the next few weeks. Stacy starts with a brief intro about SEEDS and the students she teaches. She adds, “My students do not know the difference between friends and strangers, we at SEEDS teach them how to be safe in the community. Some of my students have personal space issues, some have been trialed as sexual offenders, and some have brain injuries from car accidents.” The interns nod their heads in understanding.

If someone was told to sum up Stacy Everson in one word, Motivated would be an understatement. A day in the office with Stacy is a experience one will never forget, from private meetings with screaming and frustrated clients to the phone ringing five times in an hour. Stacy Everson should be titled "Super Woman" she takes no breaks, travels all over San Diego, Northcounty, to the boarder, and in between for her work.

At first glance one might wonder what motivated Stacy to open up SEEDS. As a nurse she came across a woman in her 30's. She had been raped but no one believed her. Stacy explained, "I was the Sex Ed teacher\nurse and was sent out to deal with it. She was angry and breaking things in the house she lived in. After talking with her, I realized this was not made up. I then got angry and went to administration and said nothing was out there service wise and we should drop it or I should do something. The young woman asked if believed her and when I said yes, and I would make others believe too. I have carried her story everytime I speak on the subject. Others have to believe and help expose abuse if abuse is going to decrease. Abuse thrives when good people do nothing. My job is to educate and put my students stories and their faces to abuse statistics.”