My Story

For me, while growing up education was never on the list of priorities in my house. I can remember many times having not done very well on a report card and it not being of the tiniest bit of concern to either of my parents. I suppose the fact that I was born prior to either of them completing high school may have been the culprit. Guilt could have easily prevented them from pushing me to do well, although I would like to believe that if I were in their shoes I would have taken quite the opposite approach and been instead fueled to encourage my child to succeed because her life depended on it!

As my time approached to graduate from high school, I found myself repeating history and pregnant with my first child. However, unlike my parents I managed to graduate ahead of my class. I cannot take full credit for this miracle, but instead I must convey to you that I was blessed to have a handful of teachers who encouraged me to apply my best efforts regardless of my circumstances. They instilled in me the belief that I was an important individual. However, the realization that they somehow cared about my success, made all the difference.

According to, “Changing the World One Life at a Time: A Teacher-Educator Promotes Independence,” teacher, Judy Bowers is quoted as saying, "A good teacher, like a good parent, is one who can listen, encourage, motivate, and analyze options.” And her basic philosophy is that "Students need to do things themselves. They need to make their own choices — and their own mistakes — and the earlier, the better! That's how they become competent decision makers."

I took those tools with me when I left home to join the Army in hopes of grooming myself for a better life.  Many years later after having built my resume with various careers, I at last felt the need to enter the institution of higher education so I could take on the task of re-inventing myself. Having been a huge fan of Dr. Maya Angelou for many years, I concluded that if a person can bounce back from the depths of hell as she had done, then I could hopefully with a lot of hard work manage to do the same with my life.

Gravely concerned about whether or not I could financially afford this new endeavor, my immediate options for higher education were to enroll at Forsyth Technical Institute, Winston-Salem State University or Salem College. One of the first questions that I asked myself was how did I want myself to be viewed as an adult college student? I felt that by attending Forsyth Tech that I wouldn’t be taken as seriously as I would like to be and as for WSSU, I actually applied there but didn’t get timely responses to my inquiries so I remained uncommitted. I went on a short time later to apply at Salem College where I felt I was very well received! 

I knew that by attending Salem I would be able to increase my social status, which would hopefully in turn assist me in building up my nonprofit organization. I failed to mention that when I left for the military in 1985, I didn’t return to North Carolina to set up residency again until the latter part of 2008. This I realized was a serious drawback, as I had no real contacts from which to draw information, support or meaningful networking opportunities. 

I was virtually an alien in my own hometown so what better way to afford people the chance to get to know me on a personal level and to become educated on what my HIV & AIDS advocacy work was all about? I was welcomed into the arms of Salem College with sincere warmth and caring and have since committed to expand my horizons within the walls of her “intimate learning community.” Wrapped in the cloaks of self-determination and perseverance, is what I pledged to walk in.

My inner drive to help others when I can is no doubt the direct result of my experiences throughout childhood. I realized quite early that people often times make the choice to live beyond their means while others due to the cards life dealt them go without the basic necessities of life. Some things to me make little to no sense, for example the huge amounts of monies that are spent during the US election campaigns just to name one.

The nonprofit organization that I helped to establish in 2007 is called The Power of TEENS, Inc. and it has been until recently funded solely from portions of my personal and very modest budget. My most constant prayer has always been that my community efforts will make a difference in the lives of those in my community. Regardless, I remain committed to the cause because I know that we as a society have to make the conscious decision to change both the way we think of the disease and how we treat people who are infected. In addition, we need to realize also that every one of us are either infected or affected since what impacts one of us impacts the whole of us.

According to John Wiley & Sons, Inc., “Women, much like in communities of color, tend to donate their time or wealth to organizations that have affected them or someone close to them (Burgoyne, Young, and Walker, 2005; Parsons, 2004).

They go on to say, “Exploring the significance and variety of women’s philanthropic action in education is important because both philanthropy and education were among the earliest spaces where women, though still acting within culturally prescribed roles, found opportunities to participate in the public sphere”.—Andrea Walton, 2005, p. 5

To meet me one would not know that I have had to settle for merely surviving for most of my life. That fact is very gingerly masked by the way in which I carry myself. I am a woman of pride who finds it quite easy to exude confidence and class when walking into a room, regardless of how terrible afraid I might be feeling inside. 

I have embarked upon a breakthrough in my life and I intend to successfully reinvent myself. Not for personal gain, but because there are people in this world who need me to do great things with my life. I will therefor no longer be afraid of being a beacon of light for others.

Work Cited

Wilcos, E. (2006). Changing the World One Life at a Time: A Teacher-Educator Promotes Independence. Teaching Music, 13(4), 38-43.

Women and Philanthropy. (2011). ASHE Higher Education Report, 37(2), 41-45.