Skylar (Michael) Theroux was born into a family marked by hardship and instability. When her parents divorced at the age of eight, she grew up in a household filled with conflict. At ten years old, she found refuge with her grandparents, whose love and support helped ground her through turbulent years. Yet, loss struck early: she watched her grandfather slowly fade to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and years later, endured the devastating death of her grandmother after a lifelong battle with cancer.

These painful experiences forged a determination in Skylar to succeed and to rise above poverty. By fifteen, she took on odd neighborhood jobs, and at sixteen she entered the food service industry. After experiencing harassment at Burger King, she pressed forward, quickly advancing in her career with McDonald’s Corporation and later Wendy’s International. Despite a non-work-related injury that forced her to shift paths, Skylar remained focused on building a future through education.

She earned her GED and pushed her way into college while balancing grueling work demands—often 60 hours a week at multiple jobs—alongside full-time classes. Her relentless drive eventually led her to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she entered with a 3.8 GPA and graduated with her Bachelor’s degree. This achievement was all the more remarkable given that she fought through years of systemic judicial abuse, ultimately vacating and expunging her record—a battle that forever changed her life and perspective.

In 2023, Skylar endured another profound loss when her mother passed away, leaving behind only debt and fractured family ties. Though grief weighed heavily, Skylar refused to give up. Her lived experiences fueled her advocacy: she has met with statewide elected officials, had her writing published from Tufts University, and engaged as an active participant in Partakers and Brandeis University’s Justice Initiative. She has fought for criminal justice reform, advancing proposals for more therapeutic and systemic approaches to drug offenses, greater accountability for operators of the justice system, and restructuring correctional facilities into more rehabilitative, transparent institutions and establish more sustainable wages and work/programming in the statewide system leading to well paying careers that aligns with their convictions and increase societal stability while also returning the cost of taxpayers to further advance the statewide quality of life.

Today, Skylar stands on the threshold of her next chapter. She is awaiting decisions on her Juris Doctor enrollment, with some of the nation’s most prestigious law schools actively recruiting her. A voice for reform, resilience, and justice, Skylar continues to turn hardship into purpose.

She can be reached at therouxlegalservices@gmail.com.