Our Mission

To inspire young mothers to overcome the stigmas and obstacles of young motherhood and reach their academic goals.

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Our Goals

Provide one $1,000 scholarship per year to a mother currently enrolled in a bachelors or graduate degree program

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Who We Are

Christin Thorpe is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. She attended Oakland Catholic High School and furthered her education at Hampton University. To her surprise, Christin learned she was pregnant the day before the start of her senior year of college. Despite the difficulties and obstacles she faced as a pregnant college student, Christin went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Community and Social Services May 10, 2015. She then had a healthy baby boy 10 days later.

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Determined to defy the statistics associated with being a young single mother, Christin began her Masters of Social Work degree at the University of Pittsburgh on the community and social administration track with her new three month old baby. As a first year graduate student she was granted the University of Pittsburgh Center on Race and Social Problems Fellowship. Despite the difficulty of completing a rigorous graduate program coupled with navigating motherhood, Christin graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a 3.8 GPA in May of 2017.

 

Throughout her graduate experiences Christin received divine opportunities to merge her faith and passion for social justice in urban communities. She now works in the faith-based community development sector where she educates and empowers Black churches and people of faith in holistically combatting issues of injustices within urban communities. This work is done through her consulting company Kingdom Centered Solutions, as well as her position as the Fellows and Community Engagement Coordinator for Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s Metro Urban Institute.

 

Christin has always been passionate about helping others, starting as early as elementary school. She has been a consistent advocate for those historically disenfranchised. Christin has held two stints as an Americorp member, acted as the Vice President for Hampton University’s Service Learning Association, along with a variety of other social service and advocacy positions. Facing the stigmas of young single motherhood and excelling personally and academically in spite of, Christin has developed a heart for young mothers. She hopes her story of faith and tenacity inspires other young mothers to continue to obtain their goals. With her experience in mind, and the countless stories of other young mothers who encouraged her, Christin felt inspired to pay it forward. With this in mind, Christin developed the Ozzie and Me Scholarship Foundation. This foundation provides one $1,000 scholarship to a mother between the age of 18-25 currently pursuing a bachelor or graduate degree. With this scholarship Christin hopes to support young mothers in viewing their children as their inspiration to reach their goals and not their excuse to quit.