CBI Class of 2016 ● Stella & Charles Guttman Community College Class of 2019, Buena Vista University Class of 2022 ● Digital Media student and writer
I had a great relationship with my director of college counseling (DCC)! She and I went through our college options and picked the one that was best for me. When I was preparing for college, I was looking for a college that had academics, athletics, and was affordable. Initially, I wanted to go to an out-of-state school but it wasn’t available for me at the time.
I chose to attend Stella and Charles Guttman Community College for many reasons. Each section of the college was accessible. If you had an issue with your financial aid, paying for classes out of pocket, mental health, or food, they took care of it. The people were so nice and supportive. It was the best college experience I could have had. The support from the faculty members and staff was amazing, and I was able to get involved in clubs despite the school being small. I graduated in June 2019 and earned an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts.
When you tell someone’s story, you give a voice to someone. Storytelling can save lives and make a difference in justice being served.
Now I am a college senior attending Buena Vista University remotely. I am pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Digital Media. What drew me to Buena Vista University was its strong digital media and communications program. The majority of students end up doing internships that lead to employment at major companies such as ESPN, Fox Sports, and professional football organizations like the Minnesota Vikings. I am expected to graduate in May 2022.
Education has made a difference in my life as I learned the tools needed to create positive changes. I want to help not only those who need it but also give back to those who are just like me
My goal is to become a professional journalist and use my digital and writing skills to improve the lives of people in my hometown of Harlem. I was inspired to pursue digital media because it will provide me with a platform to share stories about people who go above and beyond for their communities and explain the complicated realities of life in an inner-city. When you tell someone’s story, you give a voice to someone. Storytelling can save lives and make a difference in justice being served. My ultimate goal is to share stories and foster conversations between law enforcement and community members to help create a safer environment for my community.
In addition to my studies, I am very involved with college activities and student groups. I have written many articles for The Tack, the student newspaper at Buena Vista University and was named the Opinion Editor for the 2021-22 school year. My writing has been recognized in various competitions. I won first place in the collegiate Sports Writing category in the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation contest. My piece, originally published in The Tack, is called “The Impact and Influence of LeBron James,” and was chosen for outstanding reporting on an African-American individual. In addition to covering news in the community, I also write poetry, and my poem “A Voice from Harlem” was awarded an honorable mention in the rhyming poetry category in the 90th Annual Writer’s Digest Competition.
I was also selected to participate in the National Association for Black Journalists (NABJ) Student Project this past summer which was held on Zoom due to COVID-19. The NABJ Student Project gives journalism students a chance to cover the Annual NABJ Convention and work with professional journalists to produce multimedia stories. I produced two articles on the NABJ monitor website pertaining to race in the education and book publishing industries. Some lessons I gathered from this experience were the power of a story and by telling it, the impact it can have on someone. Another thing was that as a minority, we have to work two times as hard because in the media industry, it is mostly dominated by white people and it is hard to get your hand on the door as a young journalist coming out of college. But, never settle for less than you deserve and keep doing great things!