Marshall IS graduate, Toiyea Shaw, recently surprised five Marshall Senior students with laptop computers at a socially-distanced celebration at the headquarters of Compton Unified School District. The students were: Marlyn Guzman (Marshall/Dominguez), Jeremiah Hall (Marshall/Compton), Fernando Policarpo (Marshall/Compton), Areiell Rivers (Marshall/Centennial), and Fallon Walker-Brown (Marshall/Centennial).

Shaw founded non-profit organization Chics Helping Inner City Adolescents (CHICA), in October of 2014, when she rose to meet a need in communities. “I saw first-hand the need to improve the programs and resources available to the youth, including simple things such as school supplies. I always wanted to give back and provide resources for children like myself,” said Shaw.

CHICA’s mission is to prepare the youth for the coming challenges in life by providing them with educational resources and teaching them to become future leaders.

Shaw has a very personal connection to her organization’s mission, one made clear in her personal life story. She began attending Thurgood Marshall Independent Studies during the Fall of 2004. At that time, she had missed a semester of school and was behind 30 credits. However, she also had a strong desire to be the first college graduate in her family and decided to enroll in El Camino College, while at Marshall. She worked diligently to maintain her dual enrollment status until her graduation from Thurgood Marshall IS in the Spring of 2007. That fall she began studies at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) and a career with Nordstrom. She graduated CSUDH in May 2011 with a degree of Bachelor of Science Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. She is currently the Divisional Manager for Beauty and Men’s Grooming.

The laptop donation truly brings Shaw full circle to her days at Marshall. “As someone who was a struggling inner city adolescent, it is such a pleasure to give back to Thurgood Marshall IS, a place I hold so dear to my heart; a place where a young girl with agoraphobia was able to fulfill her quest of graduating High School on time.”