Education Is the Path to Leadership

"As African American women coming from the farm and walking onto this campus, there’s a family feel here, and it teaches you things you wouldn’t have known because you get to meet a variety of people with different backgrounds and you learn to accept them for who they are. Due to our upbringing at home and our experiences as students of NCCU, we were given the opportunity to show ourselves how we can influence other people. We have grown personally and professionally to ensure that everyone that we come in contact with will be able to receive some form of education."

"When we were young, our parents were sharecroppers, and we had two older brothers. Neither of our parents had a high school education, and nobody had been to college, so they always told us that education opens opportunity. One day, the landowner asked our dad to keep our older brothers out of school to get the crop on his land, and he refused, so the landowner kicked our family off the land. Our dad didn’t know where to go with his family or what to do next, but he knew that education was the key to freedom. That tenacity, grit and firmness highlighted how important education was, because he gave up everything for us to have it. Thankfully, we were able to move to a farm owned by our mom’s family, and we lived down a dirt path in the woods with no indoor toilet. We worked hard on the tobacco farm and later in the textile mill, and we were taught to be independent, knowing that through education, there was a better life out there for us."

"I was the first girl of the children, so I saw myself more as a caretaker than a regular sister. I was very serious as a child. If you saw a picture of me, you wouldn’t have seen a smile. School was an outlet for me because I loved books and studying, and it was my way of escaping. In 3rd grade, my teacher was the teacher librarian, and that’s what I wanted to be. I went through desegregation as a senior in high school, so some of my ties and friendships were separated, and I was attracted to NCCU because there were people who looked like me. When I was accepted there, that was it. My sophomore year, I realized NCCU offered a master’s degree in library science, and I had forgotten my dream because I thought it didn’t sound exciting or prestigious, so it was at NCCU when that dream came together. NCCU prepared me for the transformation and innovation happening in education and library sciences at the time so that I could truly be a leader. Now, I smile a lot more, I really do."

"Five years later, I came along. I was the quietest growing up, and I didn’t want to be seen; I tried to be invisible as a way of protecting myself. I am an introvert, but I had a hidden confidence — I needed to be given the opportunity to shine, but I didn’t feel it at first. We saw a change in Marion when she came back from school, and I liked what I saw. I wanted to become more vocal and assured in myself. I didn’t want to sit back and allow others to make decisions for me, so I went to NCCU too. When I walked into the college classroom, a professor said to me, 'You need to communicate and let people know what you think,' and I really appreciate that. I did have ideas of my own, and that was a metamorphosis for me. For the first time, I felt important — I was important, and I could add to the story. The students we got to know had their own stories, cultures, and dreams. They became an extension of my family as part of my growth process. Those relationships helped feed what I wanted to become, and I went into music education to give others a voice, too."

"As the baby girl of the family, I am the sister who was the most different and unique. Growing up, I went to the fields to 'heish tobaccah,' and took on a lot of the farm work. I wanted to go to college because I had a hard time going through desegregation and saw both of my sisters transform into these beautiful, strong women, so I wanted to have that freedom too. I had lived most of my life being everyone’s little sister, so once I got to NCCU, I was able to see the culture and find out who I was. My professors helped me to speak up, and I learned to argue facts. It brought something totally different out of me: I’m a fact-finder now. I see what NCCU did for me — I felt accepted by a community that not only looked like me, but also those who didn’t. It helped me realize that I am somebody, and it gave me confidence and an opportunity to hone what was already in me. I realized the fight that I had, and I was able to manage it and realize I wasn’t angry at people from the past, but at ideas. I started out in the political science field and then became an educator to honor my dad."

"We all hold post-graduate degrees now and are leaders in our communities because of two reasons. One: our parents pushed us to go to school and become educated so that their past struggles would end with us, and two: NCCU took it to another level to show the art of the possible so that we would break limitations. Education was encouraged, and within those expectations, there may have been a ceiling, but being able to be away from home and in a setting at NCCU, the ceiling was so much higher and broader, and we were able to see and experience more to truly lead in our careers. Where we came from, it was about who you knew, not who was truly qualified. Education opened the door for us, and without the avenue of NCCU, we shudder to think what our lives would have been like. It gave us the tools to use our voices, and because we are really involved in other people’s lives as educators, we can help others be the best version of themselves that they can be. The people we met and the culture there allowed us to learn that no matter your background or where you came from, you have a voice and something to say, and there would be people willing to listen."

"We have a nephew who’s dubbed us 'The Three Wisewomen,' and when the three of us get together, we’re known as a force to be reckoned with. We didn’t soar in areas that most people write about, but we soared as educators. Our trajectory was positively transformed by NCCU, and we have accomplished great things as individuals while continuing to serve others and help them also obtain greatness."