Meet Tiffany E. Brockington, an HBCU Grad Focused on Giving Back to the Community.
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Posted By: S. Moore on January 03, 2023 We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany E. Brockington. She is a White House HBCU ambassador. Her non-profit, The Michigan Undergraduate HBCU Syndicate focuses on bringing more opportunities and resources to Detroit kids who need them, socially & academically. She is a Howard University alumna. Canvas Rebel had a conversation with Tiffany E. that we thought you might find useful, we hope you enjoy it!. Hi Tiffany E., thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard. Yes! I have a fine niche: creating access to the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in a state (Michigan) that does not have any traditional HBCUs. Most organizations and schools address this by hosting HBCU Fairs for their school community. This is not an equitable approach to creating access to HBCUs, especially since the activities/programming are not systematically and systemically addressed like when schools host Traditionally White Institutions (of the same state). Most schools don’t do anything more outside of hosting an HBCU Fair for their students. In Detroit, where there are still a lot of students who will be first-generation college-going people, who are low-income, and majority Black: this approach does not work, serve them, or meet them just where they (and their parents) are. It can be intensely overwhelming trying to navigate dozens of HBCUs in a 90 minute time-frame. It’s not individualized, intentional, or helpful for this particular demographic. So, as a practice in my business: I do not believe in HBCU Fairs. My priority is to reach as many students as I can through How to Reach Hillman (the online course for prospective HBCU students that exposes them to the collective HBCU educational and cultural experience). As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context? Tiffany E. Brockington is a native Detroiter, double HBCU alumna (Howard University & Kentucky State University), and multi-passionate entrepreneur. In Tiffany’s daily professional life, she currently works at the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy on the College & Post-Secondary Success Team. After Tiffany graduated from Howard University with a bachelor of arts in Political Science, she came back to Detroit and started her first company, Syndicate HBCU Consulting & Advising. The Syndicate is a Detroit based consulting company that specializes in creating access to the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Once Tiffany graduated from Kentucky State University with a masters in public administration (nonprofit administration focus), she came back to Detroit and started her second company, Think Twice Enterprises. Think Twice Enterprises is a consulting firm that empowers small business owners and individuals through human resource consulting, project and idea development and consulting, and grant writing for community organizations and projects. The greatest privilege of Tiffany’s life is being born into a family that values education and higher education. For Tiffany, it is a privilege to be third-generation college educated. It should not be a luxury or privilege to have a support system that promotes dreams and ambitions but, for some people, it is. The legacy that Tiffany’s grandparents (both sets) began is built upon collective work and responsibility. Tiffany is meant to use the education that she has learned in the classroom (and the relationships that she has made while pursuing that education) to create solutions for her community and to provide care and support for those in need of it. One of Tiffany’s daily affirmations is “I create the things that need to be created.” That’s the literal vision and mission for every company that she owns. It’s necessary and serves her community. Tiffany believes that there is no problem that we can’t solve together. Can you open up about how you funded your business? Every day, I listen to James Brown’s The Boss, The Isley Brother’s Work To Do and Take Me To The Next Phase, Stretch Money’s It Takes Money to Make Money, and Stevie Wonder’s You Haven’t Done Nothin. I work a W2 career job for experience and capital to fund my business until I am profitable. Quite literally, I am the first and the last dollar in my business and gladly. It’s been a wild time, for certain. I started How to Reach Hillman with my own money back in 2018, it was very basic: just lecture content. Then, during the Pandemic, I had more time to devote to structuring it as an online, live workshop. That was stressful but still not what I wanted, it wasn’t the vision. Eventually, I found several platforms for developing online courses and those were pricey. At this time, I was halfway through my masters program, stuck at home during the pandemic still, and applied for an opportunity from Thurgood Marshall College Fund and GUCCI. I was selected as TMCF x GUCCI Changemaker and I used this money to upgrade How to Reach Hillman to its standalone online course as the public knows it now. Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business? I fired my first client earlier this year. I didn’t know I was strong enough to do it until the situation became untenable and things were revealed (they had been undermining my work and other issues). I walked away from approximately $25,000 and as a small business, I had plans. That money was going to finance my next round of upgrades and some serious programming for 2022. But, walking away was the right thing to do because integrity matters and I care about who I work with as a partner. From this, I also learned about indemnity clauses and that I need to have a favorable indemnity clause in my contracts, no matter what. I worked hard and in good faith, and did not get paid after they were in breach of contract. Contact Info: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyebrocking... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissBrockington Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brockingtontif... Other: https://linktr.ee/TEBrockington SOURCE Canvas Rebel If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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