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My name is Dawna Biggs. I was born on the Hill, so I’ve been on the hill for 63 years. I’m 63 years old. My birthday is April 6, 1961. So I grew up in the Hill District up on Sugar Top. It’s a very good community. We used to go in and out of everybody’s houses and eat and sleep. So we are like family, so we call us the Sugar Top family. So most of the people I grew up with and went to school with, we are still friends today. I am the youngest of six kids by my mother, 13 by my dad. He was married four times. We are all a musical family. O’s and M’s was our start with the O’s and M strings. I don’t know if you guys are familiar, it was a 250 piece orchestra. My oldest brother plays a trumpet. My brother Ronnie plays the bass. My sister Betty sings, and my mother played the piano for every church on the Hill. My dad was a custodian at Schenley and he also plays the sax. Back in the day, Centre and Herron Ave. was very, very thriving businesses. It was like the Wall Street. You had barber shops and BBQ places and bars, but they also had a lot of nightlife, which drew me. I’ve been a nurse, CAN, for about 50 years. I’ve been doing that since I was a teenager. I worked teaching veterans better health, better choices for strength to serve, which is part of the Air Force. I’m an Air Force brat, so I got out the Air Force in the 80s. I went to cosmetology school. I’ve done cosmetology, and I’ve been teaching roller skating since I was 13. I used to do crack. I went to nine rehab to get off, yes. It was very hard. It was very, very hard, and I still worked every day, and I still skated every week. That’s one of the things that brought me out of it because I just- and here’s the weird part, guys. And I tell my story because I, you know, “you don’t look like it,” so that gives you hope for anybody in your family who is on it or whatever. Just keep believing in them. Don’t shun them. People used to say that to me. “We’re waiting on you to come in, we’re waiting on you to do this,” you know? And I’d be like, “Whatever. I’m going to get the next one.” You know what I’m saying? And because I worked ahead to keep up a certain appearance… I’ve actually worked at rehabs and everything else, and that’s why I tell my story because people wouldn’t think like there’s still people that’ll say they got a crackhead today, and I just laugh at them now because that’s something I did. And if that’s the worst you could call me, as something I did. My son asked me about five years ago, “Ma…” I used to smoke cigarettes, too. I quit that too. But he said, “well, what was you addicted to other than cigarettes?” I said crack cocaine. I was one of those honest people. And I think that helped me to get away from it because I was so honest with myself and anybody that asked me. So you can’t be ashamed of what you’ve done. Use it to help someone else. Definitely get off the Hill, meaning see other places, go to different communities. Don’t be scared. Get into activities because that’s one of the things that helped me. You know, because roller skating since I loved it as a child, I used to go to Homewood Colosseum. We just keep passing on what we learned. My nephew roller skates, my nieces roller skate. My sisters and brothers have roller skated. My mother was a professional roller skater. So yeah, it’s already going on. That’s what I would like to see other people do. And this is what I challenge you ladies to do, and you’re already doing and doing what you’re doing now. You’re learning how to do something different because you could take this opportunity and make it a business of your own. You know what I mean? You never know what opportunities, or who you’ll meet, that can open the next door. First thing is to break down your self barriers, the self doubt. Believe in yourself, trusting yourself and try new things.