CBI Class of 2014 ● Muhlenberg College Class of 2018 ● Manager of Partnerships, Girls’ Education at Student Leadership Network
My director of college counseling (DCC) was Vanessa Kilpatrick and when I look back at my time as a student I see the value in the lessons she stressed daily now more than ever. Under the guidance of my DCC , I applied to 20 schools and received offers (with generous financial aid) from 14 of them. College applications were expensive for my family and we couldn’t afford to apply to all the schools I was interested in, but she helped me navigate those costs, and as a result, expanded the options that were available to me.
After graduating high school, I attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. There, I chose to study Media Communications, focusing heavily on production. Much of my creative work engaged documentary principles. I was very interested in amplifying the narratives of young people of color. One of the photo series I developed while on campus was entitled “PWI 101” and the project used documentary portraiture, derived from interviews, to encapsulate the experiences of the Black women living on campus at a primarily white institution. Upon graduating, I was awarded the Jim D. Schneider Award for Social Justice from my alma mater.
Learning how to fail and get back up is something we aren’t always encouraged to do, but I promise, you will come out stronger and wiser on the other end.
During my earlier years in the workforce, I started in the media industry and spent my time outside of work volunteering for organizations with youth-facing programs. I had a passion for bringing more nuanced, early career experiences to students. As a first-generation Black woman who attended college in an environment in which most of my peers came from more privileged backgrounds and wealthy school districts, I became aware–very quickly–of the disparities in education for individuals like myself.
While I never really felt like I was missing out on anything in my primary education because I have been fortunate enough to have always had teachers who truly cared and made me feel valued, I didn’t realize exactly how much lemonade my teachers made out of lemons. It wasn’t until I was in an environment where the majority of individuals had only ever experienced an education full of ready-made lemonade that I realized how much more there was for me to learn in order to compete. As I continued to volunteer in educational spaces after college, I found myself eager to play more of an active role in shifting the state of educational equity. After some time, I left my job in the media industry to work within the non-profit educational sector and have not looked back since.
Currently, I am the Manager of Partnerships for Girls Education at Student Leadership Network and I could not be happier. I see myself, my former schoolmates, and my community in every school that I enter. I want to see young people soar beyond their highest expectations and couldn’t be prouder to be in a position to assist. During my free time, I also still engage in media production through my freelance photography and videography business, Solu Productions.
Someone in my youth once told me to “embrace the unknown,” and I think this is so important. Too often we are encouraged to stick to the path that is safe, that is known. But how will you ever know how far you can jump if you keep jumping off the same cliff? Don’t be afraid to be the first, don’t be afraid to take risks. Another piece of advice that I read from the queen herself, Rihanna, “Never a failure, only lessons.” Failure is important. Rejection is important. Being accountable for your errors is so important. It allows you to build the resilience to learn from your mistakes or missteps.
Especially as a woman, we often receive so much pressure to be perfect; so much pressure to get it right the first time that failure, especially public failure, can become debilitating. Learning how to fail and get back up is something we aren’t always encouraged to do, but I promise, you will come out stronger and wiser on the other end.