Shanoah has performed before hundreds of people as a regional spoken-word artist. But not so long ago, she was a painfully shy 13-year-old who practically had to be dragged onto a stage. She found her voice, however, and gained confidence in a poetry group called Poetic Beginnings at her local Boys and Girls Club's theater group. She quickly became a group leader and began mentoring other girls. Shanoah recognized a need to do more after hearing a girl open up about being abused. So she started Sista2Sista, a group that provides life and coping skills for girls. "If one person helps someone else, it will eventually come around to them again," she says.