A person’s teenage years are generally characterized by extreme highs and lows, and there are teens that experience more than their share of turbulence, often due to factors beyond their control.

And the measure of any person – young or old – is characterized by the well-worn saying of “it’s not how many times you fall down; it’s how many times you get up.”

Sixteen-year-old Stephanie Soetan is one of those teenagers. Born in Nigeria, she moved with her family to Chicago at the age of 4 and then moved to the Atlanta area when her parents divorced. At her young age, Soetan has felt the sting of bullying, the ache of isolation and the pain of depression.