Jade Harris loves what she sees in the mirror everyday and she wants to make sure that other teens feel the same way.

That’s one of the reasons the 16-year-old Swissvale resident decided to enter the Plus Teen USA beauty pageant.

SIZE IS JUST A NUMBER—From left: Marshay’la Brown, Jade’s sister; Jade Harris; and Jade’s best friend, Imani Motley. (Photos by J.L. Martello)

Harris and her mother, Tiffany Jenkins, learned of the pageant while watching the Style Network this summer.

“I liked the spirit of the pageant because it offers self-esteem and I thought it would help me with my public speaking skills,” Harris said.

According to the site www.plusteenusa.com, Plus Teen USA, a non-profit organization, was founded by plus size model, modeling instructor and former pageant titleholder, Dr. Jacqueline Lawrence.

“Be all you can be” is a slogan of the U.S. Army and that is exactly what veteran Michael Furby has done.

Years after completing high school at Woodland Hills and tours of duty in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army Reserves, and the U.S. National Guard, Furby was looking for a civilian job. He stepped into the Career Link in Johnstown, Pa., and discovered that he qualified for the Job Corps under the veteran’s disability waiver. His whole life turned around.

MICHAEL FURBY

It’s college-preparation season, and many families are worried about sending their sons or daughters to college for a myriad of reasons—not the least of which is fearing that he or she will make some bad decisions. If you are that parent or guardian, rest assured, says La Roche College psychology professor Janet Gates, Ph.D. This phase is “about spending time with your child and explaining expectations about college,” not adding angst to an already stressful time.

The public has a rare opportunity to make sure that organizations and institutions treat them fairly. The U.S. Department of Education is accepting comments on proposed federal regulations that will govern career education programs. These include most programs at for-profit colleges, where about half of undergraduate students are people of color.

Career education is supposed to prepare people for specific jobs in fields like culinary arts, criminal justice, medical assisting, auto repair and many others.  But too many for-profit career colleges are roping in students with deceptive marketing and aggressive sales tactics, providing substandard training, and leaving students deep in debt they cannot repay  A recent Government Accountability Office investigation documented some of these exploitative practices, including lying to prospective students about job prospects and even encouraging them to commit fraud.