This week has been one of the most empowering weeks that I have had in a while. On Monday, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to my alma mater, Howard University, to recruit teachers for my school district. This was a full circle moment for me because almost exactly 10 years ago I committed to attending Howard as a pre-med B.S./MD student. I knew it was the school I wanted to attend from the moment I walked on campus and saw all the beautiful , intelligent, and frankly cool black people . I was with my mother and I couldn't stop smiling. I pray that my own children will at least be able to witness the beauty that is an HBCU in the spring.
After deciding to attend Howard I received some criticism from my classmates and even my parents because I passed up a scholarship to attend Georgia Tech to go to Howard. Looking back, this was one of the most important moments of my life when I started doing what felt right for me regardless of what other people thought. Once on campus I was surrounded by my peers who , for the first time, introduced my to the diversity that could be among black people. Growing up in a suburb in Georgia I didn't see much of that.
All of the sudden I had friends from around the country and met people from around the world and we all shared the common experience of being young, gifted, and black .
I was able to take African American Studies with Dr. Carr and learn the part of history that was left out of my high school curriculum . I received opportunities to research at the National Institutes of Health as a college student. I learned how to navigate a truly urban and frankly , at the time, hood part of town with ease. That was a major feat for a young black girl coming from Stockbridge, GA.
The mentorship I received at Howard was life changing. I had people so invested in my future that they pushed me even though I wasn't sure I could do it. They picked me back up after I wasn't my admittance to medical school was cancelled and showed me there was other things I could be great at.
I attribute much of my resilience to Howard and hearing no a million times before you hear the yes that matters.
I am now 27 years old and a few weeks away from being a Founding Assistant School Leader of Academics . This would not have happened without the lessons that I learned in and out of class at my beloved HU. My goal is to open a STEM academy for black girls here in Texas and I know that I can and must do it because of Howard .