Alexis, 11, stands heads and shoulders above her classmates. Literally.
“I’m the tallest kid – boy or girl – in my class,” she says proudly.
But that isn’t the only thing that makes her stand out in class. Alexis is a regular on the honor roll and recently won “most improved” accolades.
“I’m in fourth grade and my favorite subject is recess,” she jokes, adding that she also likes math.
She mostly sees school as a duty, though.
“I do not like school,” Alexis say, “but I do good in school.”
But there are plenty of things that Alexis – who goes by the nickname Lexi – does like.
“I like to hike,” she says. “I like to go to the zoo. I like to play board games. I like to ride bikes.”
Alexis also likes soccer and beamed during a one-on-one coaching session with Karla Thompson of Arizona Youth Association.
The activity Alexis loves the most is swimming.
“I love swimming because it’s really fun and it’s a coping skill for me,” she says, adding that it is never too cold to jump in the backyard pool. “I go swimming every day that I can fit it in.”
Alexis is eager to settle in with a forever family with a mother and a father. And she hopes to be a big sister.
“I would like to have a dog and a baby at my forever family,” she says.
Being a big sister and teaching younger siblings, says Alexis, would give her experience to be a teacher when she grows up.
“Alexis would do fine in any family setting,” says Ashleigh Pierce, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids adoption recruiter with Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK).
There is only one real requirement for Alexis, says Pierce.
“Her idea of 'family' is that 'family' is 'love.'"
Watch the stories of children in foster care waiting on forever families each week on the Wednesday’s Child segment each week between 5-6 a.m. on Channel 12 (KPNX). You can also view previously aired stories at www.aask-az.org.
For more information on children eligible for adoption, call Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK) at 602-930-4900, or visit www.aask-az.org.