Rooting for Black Excellence
Throughout my college experience, I struggled to find mentors I could connect to who understood my own life experiences. I attended a pretty diverse undergraduate university, but the percentage of enrolled black students was definitely in the single digits. My professors were mostly white, as were many of my peers. It was hard to imagine a potential career in academia as a black woman when there were only one or two that I saw on a regular basis around campus.
Now that I’m in graduate school, I’m still in a program that is predominantly white, but I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of black graduate students and faculty who are all housed in my program’s college on campus. It felt amazing being around so many black people who are studying different issues within education and are rallying for the field to better reflect the students we serve.
I’m only in the first semester of my program, but I go back and forth as I consider my future career track. Do I want to only practice and work on the ground with schools? Do I want to work in academia and train upcoming school psychologists in this emerging field? Do I want a little of both?
As the faculty members told their stories of coming up through academia, it inspired me that maybe I can do both. They all have varying levels of professorship, but they all have some kind of side hustle to stay connected to the practice of their field. I want to be on the ground-level and be visible for the little black boys and girls who don’t always see themselves represented in their schools. But I also want to be visible for college students who could see even less representation on campus.
For me, it was hard to imagine my path without seeing anyone else who looked like me doing the work I wanted to do. Seeing so many black students thriving in their programs has given me more hope for the future of academia. There black faculty are We’re currently taking up such a small space in academia, and I’m hopeful that we will continue to break these barriers and create a new norm where seeing a black professor on campus isn’t such a shock.
This is all to say…I’m really here rooting for everybody black. ✊🏽
