Angela Rudolph Little empowers girls and parents through volunteerism

Angela Rudolph Little empowers girls and parents through volunteerism

Angela Rudolph Little, director of customer care onboarding and readiness at Synovus, is dedicated to empowering teenagers and young girls. For 15 years, she's volunteered with the Diamond In The Rough youth development program. In recent months, the organization appointed her to its executive board of directors. Her volunteerism mirrors the expectations she has for herself, her daughter and the young women of DITR.

Her introduction to DITR began in an office parking lot, where she met Nicole Steele, Ph.D., DITR founder and CEO. "I saw Dr. Steele wearing a pink and black t-shirt, and it looked very similar to my sorority colors," she recalls. "I stopped and asked her about her shirt, and she told me about Diamond In The Rough."

Impressed by the organization's mission, Little enrolled her shy fourth-grade daughter, Jasmine Little, who participated for eight years. At 23 years old, Jasmine now volunteers to pass down what she learned through DITR.

The success of Little's daughter is the example DITR wants for participating girls. Little explains that DITR played a role in breaking her daughter's shyness and encouraging her to run for - and win - Miss Berry College (Mount Berry, Georgia). Her daughter won more than $80,000 in college scholarships and went on to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in early education and is now a second-grade teacher.

Little credits the college prep work through DITR with increasing Jasmine's confidence.