​Leadership & Advocacy | Positive Societal Contribution | Moral Character

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Leadership & Advocacy
The pride of my leadership and advocacy work has been learned through my lived experiences, and through the experiences of others. For example, I have planned and facilitated programs with Michigan-based community partners to offer WOC targeted services and programs. The impact of these partnerships has help to build a robust network of support for women and fem graduate student health while extending educational programing to women outside of the university. Using the full extent of our shared resources, my partners and I have promoted equitable health outcomes through the following programs: an introductory fitness course with Black Girl Fitness, yoga and meditation session with community-based instructor Belinda Thurston, healthy and culturally relevant cooking demonstration with prominent Chef Christopher McClendon. Lastly, I have implemented creative forms of self-care using craft-based practices and planting with community partners like Casa De Rosado, 1991 Greenery, and The Lansing Women’s Shelter.

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Service & Societal Contribution
I am a current volunteer at the Lansing Women and Children’s shelter where I help serve meals and provide childcare to families during chapel time. I helped organized the second annual Black Girl Day of Play at the Michigan state capital. I serve as a volunteer and youth mentor at the Rhonda Walker Foundation. I also volunteer time providing administrative support to Detroit Area Agency on Aging (DAAA). I volunteer with the agency’s holiday Meals on Wheels program when I’m not providing office support. Lastly, I serve as a community educator with American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative. These community service endeavors promote my core values of education, health equity, service, mentorship, and positive identity development.
Outside of my service to the community, I also engage with several civic organizations. I have a thirteen-year tenure as a state of Michigan election inspector. I am a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the League of Women Voters – Detroit. Through these organizations, I have provided voter education training to urban communities. I am also a member of the National Council for Negro Women (NCNW) where I serve as the youth and collegiate affairs committee and social Justice committee chairs. I lead these committees in teaching youth about civic engagement, service, and voting rights. I hope that my involvement encourages participation among
young adults. I hope that the knowledge I bring to these organizations pushes their community improvement missions forward.

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Character
My goal is to serve as role model for others who share my gender, racial identity, lived experiences. It is my job to empower others and create opportunities for them to be heard. I can accomplish this job best by being open and honest about my experiences while also being my authentic self. Authenticity requires me to admit that I get things wrong, and I have growing to do. This is an acknowledgment of my humanness. Being human means there is a revolving door of mistakes I will make; however, my intent to do good and to be an example keeps me in space where I am conscious of my actions and using integrity to guide future ones.

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