DCCF Community Champion Series
(VERSAILLES, Ind.) – Angel Tunny has experienced hardship and has overcame some major obstacles.
The 17-year-old is going into her senior year at South Ripley and her high school years could have gone far different than they have.
Angel says her parents never wanted children, but somehow her mom and dad ended up with 10 kids.
The early years of her life were difficult as Angel and her siblings were subjected to violence from their father.
“They didn’t want us at all and we were neglected a lot, and when we weren’t neglected my father hit us, a bunch,” Tunny recalls.
Her dad was eventually sent to prison and her mom also left them, she said. By the age of 4, she and her siblings had lived in seven different homes.
The ten siblings were in foster care before their grandparents gained custody of all the kids.
Tunny recalls how she used to be angry and bitter and didn’t want friends when she was younger. But that changed due to a class she enrolled in.
She signed up for Jobs For America’s Graduates (JAG) at South Ripley which is taught by Sealy Hyatt. JAG is a national program where students learn job skills, and get hands-on experience to improve their chances of succeeding after high school.
Angel credits her teacher, Sealy, for playing a pivotal role in her development as she has excelled in the course. Not just in school, but on a state level.
JAG had a state officer program for the first time last year and Angel was elected as the first ever state president.
“Through JAG I’ve gotten better at leadership, got more friends and also a better community within my school,” she said.
She has set her sights on a higher role as she hopes to become President of the JAG National Career Association. If she is successful, she will lead the national effort to encourage more students to explore the opportunities within JAG.
It’s a program that she loves and she is often telling other students about the benefits of the course.
“I also go to school board meetings and give speeches and tell others how great JAG is, and I go on and on about that,” she laughed.
"I hate when people make excuses"
Despite her difficult childhood, Angel hopes her story can inspire someone else to strive for the best.
“I know I have a tough story but there are also tougher ones,” she said. “When you start making excuses is when you will not succeed. Excuses are everyone’s downfall. You need to strive for what you want and know it’s going to be hard work.”
Angel’s main objective is to be elected president of the national JAG program. If she gets that, she will go IU and also enlist in the National Guard.
“If I don’t get the national JAG office I will cry for a little bit, but I will go to the Air Force Academy in Colorado,” Tunny said.
What is her career ambitions? To study Behavioral Analysis and work in law enforcement. Specifically, the FBI.
Her goal of working in law enforcement stems from her childhood when a forensic psychologist was assigned to her case about her parents.
“The psychologist went above and beyond in her job and she talked to us like actual human beings instead of another case number,” she said.
“So, I want to do the same thing and help others on a much bigger level.”
This story made possible by the Decatur County Community Foundation who sponsors the Community Champion series.
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