Alumni Spotlight

See how far our alumni have made it through the years

What Year did You graduate?

I graduated in 2015.

What did you do post-high school?

Directly after high school, I attended a 5-week summer program from July-August that was mandatory as part of a 4-year scholarship that I received to go to college through the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). While in college, I occupied several roles on campus such as Student ambassador in the admissions office, team manager for the men’s basketball team and student government president. One of my favorite moments while in college was when I traveled to Africa for the first time alongside other students where I lived in a village for almost 2 months while doing a community service project! I later graduated as a first-generation college graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Afterwards, I worked for almost 2 years in Higher Education and then became an entrepreneur.

How did BBACD impact your life?

BBACD impacted my life in many ways! One specific way I can think about came during my term as Student government president in College. We were tasked to create some inclusive and engaging events and programming on campus and this was a huge challenge being that there hadn’t been much student pride and culture recognition on campus. Well thanks to the amazing school spirit and pride we had at BBACD during my time (and well before) I was already familiar with how I could work with my executive board to accomplish this. We ended up successfully doing a spirit week that honored each class year on campus and it was a huge success…this is literally a model I adopted from my experience at Banneker. Otherwise, BBACD impacts me everyday just with the overall sense of pride, belonging, purpose, expectation, commitment, and dedication that I carry with me daily…I am truly grateful to all friends and family that impacted me there!

Accomplishments and Future Plans?

1. Outstanding Young Alumni of the Year Award 2024 – Russell Sage College

2. Full-time First-gen Black Business Owner as of 2023

3. Presented to almost 40 schools during my time as an entrepreneur!

Future plan is to continue to stay dedicated, faithful, and obedient to God’s plan for me…only He knows the future!!!

A message for current students:

Use your resources!!! You probably hear this enough, but lean on the staff and admin there…if you never voice your concern, no one will know what’s on your mind. Don’t be afraid to speak up and advocate for yourself or others. Also, STAY IN SCHOOL! If you started this journey, I encourage you to finish even stronger…I almost didn’t graduate during my senior year at Banneker and I am so grateful that thanks to my personal family AND Banneker family…I was able to get back on track, get my act together and successfully walk across that stage…there is no other feeling that staying committed to the finish line of your goals…keep going, we will all celebrate you but most of all you get to celebrate yourself!!!