Jamara Griffin looks forward beyond her senior year at West Chester University to a career based on helping young people and families lead healthier and more productive lives through better nutrition.
She recently took a big step in that direction by publishing what one hopes will be only the first of many books, a children’s story entitled Healthy Adventures with Kayla. The book, available by that title through the www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/ is a bilingual book about a young girl sharing her passion for health and her dream of becoming a health teacher one day.
Using the storybook approach, Jamara introduces children to the benefits of good nutrition. This, in turn, will hopefully induce parents to adopt healthy cooking and eating habits toward improving the quality of family life. Throughout the softcover or the inexpensive ebook version, Kayla gives readers the chance to prepare snacks that are both delicious and better from a nutritional standpoint.
Like the charming character in her novel, Jamara hopes to work with a public health agency that would send her into schools to talk about common-sense approach to proper nutrition. “My passion to help educate people to live better by eating better comes from my need to discipline my own life to control my Type 1 diabetes,” says the petite Griffin who was diagnosed with the disease at age 8. “Normally, children don’t make decisions about what food and beverages go on the table. They eat what their parents eat.
Over and above that, “kids are strongly conditioned by what they see on TV and are influenced by their peers’ eating habits,” she maintains. But better informed on nutrition, young people can be positive influences themselves to change the eating culture around them.
Completing the publication, Griffin succumbed to the loving, but strong-armed pressure of brother Jared to let him do the illustrations – which are delightful!
Griffin has also spent considerable time in another field – acting and singing. She has already been
featured in 3 films, done commercials and voice overs and performed on stage more than ten times.
“I was raised in a Christian household and saved when I was six years old. Her parents’ influence was strengthened by being homeschooled until 9th Grade, followed by attending the faith-based City School. Now pointing toward graduation from West Chester University next June, she indicates that “I spend my spare time I have left from my classes and the long commute out Route 3 from my home in Collingdale by discipling and Bible study with members of Christian groups on campus.
Whatever happens in her life, Griffin is firm about one thing, “I want to continue to dream.” With her talents, energy, and wonderful family support, one imagines that many of her dreams will come true.
