There was a time when Sexton High School senior Martell Brown was on the wrong path. He was kicked out of school for fighting, got bad grades, and was put on probation.
Brown turned his life around after the birth of his daughter, Madalina
“That's what keeps me smiling every day I can be down. Just looking at her would bring me back up,” said Brown.
Before his daughter came into the picture, Brown was at his breaking point.
“I found out my dad wasn’t my real dad,” he said. Around the same time, an aunt passed away. He said everything began to just eat him up inside. Brown started acting out in school.
“I was expelled from school. Throughout my 12 years, I was expelled from three schools. I was on probation for about two-and-a-half years,” said Brown.
He recalls being told that if he got expelled again, he wouldn’t be able to attend any school within the Lansing School District.
“So I change everything around," he said, "And then a year later, I found out I was having a baby.”
Brown and Malinda's mother share caretaking duties. While at work and school, he is with his daughter every day.
"The pandemic really helped me," he said. "I get to do school at home on my laptop. So it's easier for me to do school and watch my daughter."
His older brother, Undra Brown, said he was proud of the changes his brother made.
“The household changed a little bit. And then when he got back on track, we started doing like, more family-oriented things because we now had the time to do that,” Undra Brown said.
His friend since middle school, Farjai Loggins, said having a daughter turned Brown into a man and a great businessman.
Brown’s little girl, Madalina, motivated him to do better and start his own business eight months ago with his brother and Loggins: a mobile detailing business called Lansing Mobile Detailers.
Brown said he always wants to be able to provide for his daughter so she never has to worry about money.
Brown is set to graduate from Sexton High School next month. He’s hoping to expand his business while providing a better life for his daughter
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