Here is a little bit about me!
I am a product of the Chicago Public School System. I attended Jean Baptiste Beaubien Elementary School from the fall of 2002 to the spring of 2011. I then attended William Howard Taft High School from the fall of 2011 to the spring of 2015. I lived these fundamental years as a normal, privileged child would.
Privileged, per the dictionary, means a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. I use this word because I was and remain to this day, privileged. After years of feeling guilty for the said privilege, I've learned not to feel shame but to use said privilege to make a real impact in the lives of those around me.
In the fall of 2015, I attended Aurora University. Fun fact: I went to AU because I didn't get into any other school due to low test scores. Additionally, I was able to pay for school because of a music scholarship I won for singing. I started as a business major, wanting to focus on management. However, after my first class, I knew it wasn't for me. After this, I realized that my true calling was in education.
Where? I had no idea, but I knew it was where I belonged.
With this newfound confidence, I joined Lambda Theta Alpha, Latin Sorority, INC, in the Spring of 2018. Right before I was to start my process, I got into a car accident that would change my life forever.
I was headed home after band practice one day. It was winter, and it started to rain ice. Next thing I knew, I was pinned under an 18-wheeler, dragged, and thrown into a concrete median. Something changes in a person after their first encounter with death. I was never the same again. Nevertheless, I persevered and did what I could to keep moving forward.
After failing my last semester at AU, I dropped out and fell into a very dark place. I felt like a failure and couldn't understand why. Something, I don't know what- got me out, and in the fall of 2018, I transferred to the University of Illinois at Chicago. I remember my first day like it was just yesterday. I was wearing dark blue jeans and a grey LTA shirt in an attempt to connect with other sisters who didn’t know I existed. Everything happens for a reason, a statement I've heard many times but never truly understood. That was until sitting in front of me in my first class in a new school was a sister, my sister.
Transition into the chapter was not easy; not only was I a brand new sister, but I was also of a different chapter entirely. My sisters and I worked through things as real sisters do; I soon became a New Member Educator (PM), led Social Media, for which we received awards, and became President.
In my second year at UIC, I started my therapy journey. Mental health issues run in my family, and I came to a point where I needed help unpacking the last few years of my life. For years, I lived in anger and fear until one day, the burden didn't feel as heavy, and I felt at peace with who I was and who I was becoming.
In 2021, I graduated with a degree in Human Development and Learning.
I took some time to work before going to graduate school. I gained employment in social work right out of college. As mentioned, I always knew I wanted to help people; I didn't know what. Additionally, UIC's Center for Student Involvement hired me as extra help. It was here that I realized that this is a field that just felt right. I quit my job and decided to get my master's.