Meet Jentoria Lee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jentoria Lee. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Jentoria Lee was born in the busy city of South Los Angeles, California. As a child, she has been from home to home with her single parent, never having a stable household. At the age of 8, Jentoria was taken from her home and placed in foster care because of the poor choices her mother made. In her first foster home, she was forced to sleep in the attic and was not allowed to leave unless it was time for dinner. Her dad fought for her to be in his custody, which he later was granted but then months later, he was arrested, and she was taken back to foster care. The next home Jentoria was in was a bit better, but the children of the foster mom would bully her every day. She stayed at that foster home until she was joined by her younger sister Armanie and then moved to another foster home. By the age of 11, Jentoria and her sister were under the guardianship of her Auntie Kim. Jentoria knew she never wanted to go back to foster care and wanted to be somebody unlike the ones who bullied her, so she vowed to herself to work hard every day, go to college, and become a lawyer. After school, Jentoria would sell candy to make her some extra cash so she could afford clean clothes and hygiene products. She worked summer jobs through organizations and volunteered at The Avalon Gardens public housing project: she would help plant gardens of fresh vegetables and clean up the area. She also participated in their toy drives, giving back to kids though she was a kid herself. Jentoria was awarded a small part in the movie because of her help, which she was happy about because it reminded her that she was on the right path.

In her first year of high school, she ran away to her dad’s house because of the issues she had with her aunt and the people around her at the time. Her time living with her dad, she joined a pop warner cheer team and earned her spot as a cheer captain for the ravens. As a cheer captain, she was responsible for remembering and creating new cheers, helping other girls practice cheers, and making sure everyone helped clean up after the boys at the football tournament. While doing cheer, she also ran track and qualified for prelims. After the school year, she went to visit her mother and stayed with her aunt for her sophomore year. The summer going into the junior year, she volunteered at a daycare watching kids with similar stories to her. She loved working there during her free time and was extremely sad when they closed.

In her last years of high school, she volunteered as the manager of the track team. Her job was to check attendance, check people in at track meets record times, and help bring/ put away equipment. Although her senior year was cut short due to the covid-19 virus, she still managed to help in the best way possible. Throughout her high school years, she maintained a 3.5 GPA and up and received an award for outstanding grades each year.

Currently, she attends Clark Atlanta University as an undergraduate sophomore student studying political science with a minor in business administration. She is the first in her family to attend college and create their own business. She loves to paint on her free time and is a social media hair influencer with over 100,000 supporters. She creates tutorial videos for young girls who do not know how to do their natural hair while also giving them tips and tricks to maintain it. As a kid, Jentoria understood the difficulties and the insecurities that come with being a black woman and having thicker textured hair. So, her goal is to teach people how to style and love their natural hair. Jentoria is a humble and kind person who is loved by many and is aiming to become someone she could be proud of.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it’s never been a smooth road for me. I struggled numerous times along the way, but I did not let that kill my faith and dreams. Everything I have been through so far has helped shape me into the strong independent young woman I am today. Being in foster care mentally and physically affected me. Especially being so young and learning how cruel and evil the real world can be. Seeing people on drugs in the streets, alcoholics, gangs, and more did not leave much room for good role models. Growing up in a single parent home is also an obstacle I had to overcome. Needing the support at the time and not having it from both parents sparked a small mental depression. It made me unhappy, and I mourned for a different life. I slept in cars, hotels, and women homeless shelter never having any stability. Constantly moving and watching the community around me struggle to survive. This continued for my entire childhood.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create hair tutorials for other people to learn how to do their hair. These hair tutorials show step by step how to create a hairstyle using affordable products, hair, tools, and much more. Having type 4 hair makes it hard to find products that will lay your hair down in both dry and wet form. In these videos, I show the products and methods that work people with my similar hair type. Although all of these styles could be done on all hair types but with different products.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risk-taking to me means stepping out of your comfort zone and believing you can do anything you put your mind to. Being in foster care and seeing other kids like me losing all hope in life at such a young age was depressing and heartbreaking. One of the biggest risk I’ve taken so far was leaving home and going to college in another state. The first time leaving home is hard. You learn to become an adult, and you make many mistakes, but you keep going. I’ve never been more passionate than now about becoming the person I dreamed of as a kid. I’m chasing all my wildest dreams. I’m in the process of starting a business that I’ve always wanted to have. I am a hair influencer showing thousands of people my methods and ways of styling my hair. If I did not take that risk, I don’t think I would’ve kept faith in my dream of becoming a lawyer, entrepreneur, and hair influencer.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jentoriialee/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA0qM213ktUF8k_GMzJhK8Q