The moment I walked onto Huston-Tillotson University's campus, I immediately felt a sense of true belonging, surrounded by staff, students, and families who looked like me and treated me like I was family. Every face reflected my potential, every conversation affirmed my worth, and every interaction reminded me that I didn't need to shrink myself to fit in. As a Black woman entering STEM, where African Americans represent less than 10% of the workforce and Black women account for even less, choosing an HBCU was always my first choice— knowing that I needed an arsenal of confidence, community support, and unshakeable belief in my brilliance beyond a degree. My aunt, who’s worked in tech her whole life, has always been the only Black woman in meetings or on projects, watching white colleagues with half her expertise receive twice the praise while she does triple the work. Her experiences inspire everything I will change and fuel what I will never accept, refusing to let any other black woman be seen as the “anomaly” again. HBCUs help students like myself fight this very battle, creating a space where Black intellectualism is the norm, thriving without apology or explanation. Despite representing less than three percent of America's colleges, HBCUs produce millions of Black doctors, engineers, teachers, and lawyers who understand that excellence is more than personal achievement, but a movement. Our HBCUs do much more than educate; they cultivate warriors who transform industries from within. My dream is to be a true advocate for young Black women through my visibility as both a saxophonist and a technologist—representing the multifaceted brilliance of Black women who refuse to be put in a single box. A community of black female computer scientists, engineers, and doctors are the kind of advocates young black girls need to see more of because a smart woman is a feared woman— with the weapon of knowledge, we are unstoppable. If I breed that kind of inspiration in the minds of young black girls, persisting a growing community of women in STEM, my degree certainly would have exceeded it’s purpose!


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