Ov’Var’Shia was born and raised in Detroit, Mich. The  24-year-old began her foster youth advocacy journey in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic through support of the Park West Foundation of Southfield, Mich. During NFYI’s Congressional Shadow Day, she hopes to gain the ability to confidently advocate on a large scale due to her interest in macro level social work. Ov’Var’Shia wants to learn more about issues that are impacting foster youth negatively in other communities across the country. She’s hoping alongside her fellow delegates, they can come together as a collective, to advocate for foster youth who oftentimes feel voiceless. She wants to use her personal experience in the foster welfare system to bring forth political reform. Ov’Var’Shia wants to gain insight to various resources federally that she can bring back to the youth in her community to  help directly improve the lives of foster youth. She also hopes to learn what issues members of Congress are most passionate about addressing as it relates to foster youth lives—issues such as education, housing, healthcare, and mental health etc. A fun fact about Ov’Var’Shia is that she is a mother, a foster youth advocate and the president of a foster youth organization known as Empowering Foster Youth through TECHnology (EFyTECH). This organization is supported by Parkwest Foundation in Southfield, Mich. She also recently received her bachelor’s  degree in social work. One of her favorite quotes is from the song “Love Yourz” by J. Cole and it says “We ain’t picture perfect but we’re worth the picture still.” This quote always reminds her that she is worthy of everything and that she is blessed, regardless of what she’s been through.