SEO: Morgan Jaffe proves change is possible

Morgan Jaffe rose above the negative influences surrounding her life of drugs, abuse, and
harassment to recognize her desire to discover and excel her passion as an independent
person.

After years of darkness, troubled girl finds her light

Harsh childhood experiences fuel Jaffes future goals
By: Giannina Brancato

Even the sunny California day in mid-July couldnt brighten Morgans dark state
of mind. It had been weeks of fighting with her parents and years of tampering with her
addiction to heroine when Morgan hit rock bottom and felt the urge to leave this cruel
world.
20-year-old criminology and Russian double major,
Morgan Jaffe ponders her past in amazement. She never
would have thought that seven years from then, a family of
sorority sisters would surround her.
I went through a lot at a young age and honestly, I
didnt think I would live to see the day of actually being
happy, she said nostalgically.
Now that Jaffe has found her passion and happiness

Morgan Jaffe finds

happiness in her new life.
Photo Source: Morgans
Facebook

2,814 miles away from home at the University of Maryland, she wants to share her story
of change and human resilience with the world to help those who need light shed on their
dark thoughts.

(more)

Morgan Jaffe A#3 | Page 2

A painful past insights a brighter future
Jaffes body quaked with paralyzing fear whenever she thought of disappointing
her mother or merely failing to acknowledge when her mother had a mercurial mood
swing. One false move or word was justifiable enough for her mother to bludgeon her
daughters body.
Her childhood with an abusive mother was a unique one at best, she described.
For Jaffe, she didnt realize how much her mothers behavior deviated from the norm.
It wasnt until the fifth grade when I realized thats not how mothers treat their
daughters, Jaffe recalled.

The feeling of
being so utterly
alone is
unforgettable.

Jaffe became an expert at finding new excuses to tell

her friends after she came to school the following day with
black and blue contusions.

-Morgan Jaffe

Even though Morgan felt ashamed of her situation,

she now feels that suffering through the abuse has given her the qualities of strength and
resilience; two traits that she applies to her everyday life.
Abuse was only the background noise of the problems Jaffe was facing.
She became addicted to heroine her freshman year of high school and watched her
friends disappear one by one.
The feeling of being so utterly alone is unforgettable, Jaffe repeated.
As more and more of Jaffes friends vanished, the deeper of an affair she had with
the drug. Jaffe no longer felt the desire to try in extracurricular activities, academics or
even life.

(more)

Morgan Jaffe A#3 | Page 3

Katy Schnider, Jaffes last friend standing, noticed her absence in school and her
decline in motivation because of her overwhelming addiction. She implemented an
intervention to help Morgan get over her addiction as well as out of her suicidal hump.
This addiction was turning Morgan into something I know she was not,
Schnider said. We missed the wide-eyed, funny Morgs she once was.
Years later, Morgan thanks her friend Katy Schnider for being so influential in her
realization of change. She was surrounded by old teammates and friends during the
intervention when suddenly, it all clicked for Morgan and she knew an alteration to her
life needed to occur.
The support from a gloomy situation provided her with the assets of hope,
security, drive and courage. These assets helped her realize she had the option to leave
Los Altos, California, her family and the past behind and begin a new life following the
goals she had once set.
Up, up and away
Even though Jaffe did not think she would get the opportunity to go to college,
she continuously dreamed of working for the NSA or FBI. She loved the suspense and
thrill of crime shows and always wanted to do good for other people.
After high school graduation, Jaffe found the opportunity and flew across the
country to College Park, not only start her track in criminology, but to start her new life
as well.
Gaining her independence in college, following her passion of criminology and
incorporating her life lessons of strength, resilience, drive and motivation have made her
feel free from her past and excited for her future.

(more)

Morgan Jaffe A#3 | Page 4

After revealing her harsh past and explaining her ways of change, Jaffe basks in
the sun constantly reminding herself that each day is brighter than the next.

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Tweet:
Troubled girl, @Morganjaffe, decides to take charge of her life and change the
direction of her future #empowerment #findyourlight
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Child abuse, a resonating issue

United States takes action against child abuse across the country
By: Giannina Brancato

It is alarming to realize just how many children are affected by child abuse. It is
estimated that, nationally, 679,000 children were found to be victims of child abuse or
neglect, according to a study done in 2014.
Many children do not know that what they are experiencing is not okay or
abnormal until they get a little older in life. Even then, they usually suffer from a
multitude of psychological trauma that follows them into their future life due to the
abuse.
A month for change
More children and families need to be
educated about abuse because of how common it is.
National Child Abuse Month does just that. This
annual event is recently celebrating its 50th
anniversary of spreading awareness and finding
solutions to child abuse.
The Children's Bureau, which is within the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
fund the National Child Abuse Prevention Month
initiative each April on the Child Welfare

There is a lot more than meets the

eye regarding child abuse.
Photo source: NCAP website

https://www.childwelfare.gov/to
pics/preventing/preventionmont
h/

Information Gateway website. The Bureaus

mission is to promote child abuse prevention through educating the public.

(more)

Sidebar NCAM A#3 | Page 2

The following are some of the topics the resource guide covers to prevent abuse in
the community:

Risk factors, consequences, identifying and reporting maltreatment, and

supporting parents and children with a history of trauma.

The resource guide released during the prevention month in April also lists some
of the following symptoms of abuse parents should be aware of:
Poor hygiene
Unexplained bruises, burns, or welts
Child appears frightened of a parent or caregiver
Age-inappropriate knowledge of sex
Extremes in behavior, ranging from overly aggressive to overly passive
When a community member feels the need to report a situation, there are many
options besides just contacting the school. Most states have a toll-free number for
reporting an incident, but there is also the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at
1.800.4.A.CHILD (1.800.422.4453).
Education is just the first step for National Child Abuse Month and continues to
grow in support and action each year. This month of April reminds society there is an
issue, and everyone can be involved in solving it.

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Storyboard
Home page: Morgan Jaffe speaks out against child abuse and offers her support
with National Child Abuse Month education
The
homepage
would
include a
photo of
Morgan
Jaffe
showing off
her new
smile.

Morgan Jaffe, a sophomore at the University of Maryland,

used her experiences with abuse, addiction, harassment and
suicidal thoughts to propel her into the field of criminology.
With traumatic exposure to so much human depravity at
such a young age, Jaffe feels she is armed with the real
world knowledge needed to help people.

First Tab: Jaffes Story

The same story as written above starting at Jaffes

body quaked with paralyzing fear whenever she thought of
disappointing and ending with reminding herself
that each day is brighter than the next.

(more)

Short
biography
would be
presented on
the page.

This tab will

talk about
Jaffes story
in depth and
include her
contact
information.

Second tab: Fact page

Exposes the reality of child

abuse with staggering stats
and a slide show of info
graphics.

(more)

Storyboard A#3 | Page 3

Third tab: Resource Page
There will be a
resource page
including links to
child abuse
To find out more about child abuse
prevention, sexual
symptoms, awareness, and prevention tips
abuse awareness,
visit:
drug addiction
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventin
support and suicide
g/preventionmonth/
help.
For sexual abuse prevention tools, warning
signs and much more visit:
http://www.stopitnow.org/
The Mayo Clinic offers many tips on Drug
prevention, relapse and treatment:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesconditions/drugaddiction/basics/prevention/con-20020970
Suicide prevention lifeline can be contacted at
1 (800) 273-8255.
Suicide help when dealing with bad thoughts
and feelings:
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/suicideprevention/suicide-help-dealing-with-your-

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