Once-troubled foster child earns recognition from governor
She bounced between homes after being removed from her mother's care without a clear understanding of why.
"I've heard that she wasn't able to take care of me, but I don't have any recollection of what was going on," she said.
A family adopted the then-6-year-old, but she was more than they bargained for.
"I butted heads a lot with my adopted mom and dad," Andrews said.
Andrews' new parents placed her temporarily with a foster family.
"Her behavior was way out of control, and way out of bounds," said foster mother Christy Wicklander.
Andrews' adoptive parents didn't want her back, but they decided to keep her sister.
"It made me confused and scared, because I didn't know why or what I did wrong to be put in a new home," said Andrews.
"It broke my heart. No child deserves that," Wicklander said.
Wicklander refused to let her foster child's anger or disappointment dictate her future. She established consistent boundaries. Andrews had finally met her match in a mother willing to say no.
"And (I let her know), 'I won't quit, and you're not going anywhere. I don't care how hard you push me, you aren't going anywhere. You are here to stay,'" Wicklander said.
The combative kid learned how to love and trust her new family.
"I was safe here, and this was my home," Andrews said. The teen now calls her foster parents Mom and Dad. She volunteers as a coach for Special Olympics.
She's earned a 3.8 grade point average, and has four scholarships for college, including the once she received on Friday -- the Governor's Scholarship for Foster Youth.
"I'm really proud. I'm really proud," Wicklander said.
A little tough love went a long way.
"The kid that moved in at 9, scared, angry, raging 9 year old, to see this today -- oh, my word," the foster mother said. "It's incredible."
Because of Andrews' foster status, scholarships will cover her tuition at Seattle University, where she plans to study nursing. Wicklander's family plans to adopt Andrews after her graduation.