Michaela DePrince was born in Sierra Leone during the country’s decade-long civil war.Her dad was killed and her mom died of starvation. Michaela has vitiligo, a disease that causes patches of skin to lose its color. In Sierra Leone, she was seen as the work of the devil due to her condition. Her uncle didn't want to be associated with “the devil” so he dropped her off at an orphanage. She was not cared for like the other children were. They called her the “devil’s child.” One day Michaela found a magazine blowing in the wind and on its cover was a photograph of a beautiful ballerina on pointe. Finding this magazine cover sparked her determination to one