Goal Card Program

Memphian Shaneka  has overcome the formidable odds stacked against her to graduate from Lane College with her bachelor’s degree in business in just three years instead of the standard four.

On Sunday, June 23, Graham, who was salutatorian of Northside High School’s Class of 2010, will receive her degree in the gymnasium of her college in Jackson, Tennessee.

But it was a long road for the young mother, who was raised in Memphis’ Dixie Homes public housing project, where she shared a two-bedroom apartment with her seven siblings and their disabled parents.

“Where I come from has always been my stepping stone to do better in life,” Graham said. “The circumstances back then have made me value the way I live today.”

Graham’s roadmap out of poverty included consistent encouragement from her parents, as well as guidance and mentoring from the Memphis-based RISE Foundation, a nonprofit that empowers low-income Memphians to transform their financial wellbeing.

Graham participated in RISE’s Goal Card Program, which gives students in grades 5-12 the knowledge and tools to achieve their academic and life goals. Students are rewarded with incentives based on grades, conduct and attendance, earning and redeeming points for prizes, such as games, school supplies and small electronics.

Although Graham is not the first Goal Card Program participant to attend college, she’s the first who, throughout her college experience, continued to forward news about her grades and progress to the RISE Foundation.

RISE Foundation president and CEO Linda Williams says Graham is “a perfect example of how Goal Card nurtures and creates positive habits for young people that continue long after they leave our program. Goal Card really makes a difference!