Northwest Christian Schools: Jatarry Stacy has ‘the spirit of an overcomer’

Jatarra Stacy got a rough start, but that hasn’t deterred her from moving forward.

“I was born into a broken home,” she said. “My mom had an affair with my dad’s best friend. She told everyone I was jaundiced because she didn’t want anyone to know I was Black.”

That wasn’t the only lie she heard from her mother.

“I remember being in the car with my parents, and they were putting things into their arms. They told me they were diabetic,” Stacy said. “I later found out (her mother had) been using drugs since she was 14.”

When she told a teacher what she’d seen, Child Protective Services intervened, and Stacy and her younger siblings were sent to live with her grandparents.

Her mother relinquished her parental rights when Stacy was 8, and she and her siblings were adopted by their grandparents. There, they found a safe and loving place to grow.

“She never showed up for visitation,” Stacy said. “I didn’t hear from my mom till I was 13.”

The family moved from Chewelah to Spokane, and Stacy enrolled at Northwest Christian Schools.

“I had to grow to like the school,” she said. “At first, I was resentful because I resented everything at the time.”

Gradually, she began to understand the gift that she’d been given – a stable home and a welcoming school family.

“Jatarra has something I admire in people – resilience and fortitude,” said Northwest Christian High School art teacher Deborah Sinclair. “Rather than having a victim mindset, she has the spirit of an overcomer.”

Sinclair said Stacy participated in the cheer team and has been socially and academically successful while maintaining after-school employment.

But more than that, Sinclair appreciates this student’s heart for others.

“She looks for the disenfranchised. She uses her own hurts and sorrows to reach out to others,” Sinclair said. “Her faith journey has been a part of that. She carries the Jesus message, which is there is no condemnation.”

That’s not to say Stacy hasn’t struggled.

Her grandfather died in 2022.

“He had prostate cancer and died in my living room,” she said. “He was my father figure. It’s been really hard. I haven’t given myself time to think or grieve.”

Recently, the emotional toll caught up with her. Stacy suffers from migraines and sinus tachycardia, a regular cardiac rhythm in which the heart beats faster than normal.

“I’ve missed a lot of school this year,” she said. “It’s stress and anxiety kinds of things. I’ve always had to be the strong one and take care of my two younger siblings.”

Despite her heartache, her empathy impressed the staff at NWC.

For Stacy, it’s simple – she understands pain.

“I get it. I understand. I hate seeing people hurt,” she said. “I do everything I can to let them know they’re not alone.”

Her compassion and connection to others bodes well for her career interest in the mental health care field. She’s planning to take a gap year, and then possibly attend George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.

“She’s someone to keep an eye on. She would excel anywhere you put her,” Sinclair said. “The love and investment of her grandparents have set her up for success.”

But how Stacy sees success may be different than how others picture it. What she wants more than anything is something many take for granted.

“I really want to start my own family and be a wife and mom,” she said. “I want to give myself the life I wasn’t given.”