Howard University became my home not too far away from home

Ten years before I became a Bison at the original HU, my sister Tamika was a student there.

Honestly, I never thought about applying to Howard University until my family started praising the school as my senior year in high school approached. But as someone who has lived in Arlington, Virginia, her entire life, attending a college less than 30 minutes from home wasn’t something I imagined for myself. I wanted to go farther away.

My best friend and I were accepted into Spelman College, and for a couple of days I toyed with the idea of becoming a Spelmanite and living in Atlanta. However, I had to consider the cost. My parents were not in a position to pay my way, and I understood the financial burden of having student loans due to my older siblings’ experiences. For those reasons, I crossed off the schools on my list that didn’t offer enough aid.

As immigrants with an alumna in their midst, my parents knew numerous stories of Trinidadians coming to America to attend Howard. Furthermore, they could visit me whenever they wanted if I stayed local. Surrounded by my family, I … we made our final decision. 

Declaring my major as English was an easy decision because I love to write. Friends and family members tried to dissuade me, saying I should major in business or something more profitable. I knew they believed in me and my ability to write. However, they wanted me to have a degree that came with the promise of a more lucrative career. Still, I wanted to do something I knew would make me happy.

I applied for scholarships, using my creative writing skills to my advantage in the applications. Even if I couldn’t make a career out of writing like author Toni Morrison, I could still do something in that area. Thankfully, I found internships that would allow me to be surrounded by words.

There are so many amazing writers at Howard. My bestie, Eliana Lewis, for example, is skilled at many different forms of writing, including journalism. The first time I dabbled in journalism was during my junior year of high school. At that time, I decided it wasn’t for me. However, seeing how ambitious everyone was at Howard encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and become disciplined in as many writing forms as I could. This led me to an opportunity that would change my undergraduate life.

I didn’t know much about the Rhoden Fellows Initiative before I applied. A recruiter from the United Negro College Fund sent me the information since my name was in their system, and I previously had mentioned my love of writing. Feeling scared and unqualified, I initially ignored the application until the recruiter followed up with me — twice.

Though journalism wasn’t something I had considered as a career, I was on a quest to write and journalism would allow me to do so. During the Rhoden Fellowship interview process, I was open about my desire to write despite having little to no knowledge of sports. I thought that would cost me a spot, considering ESPN is a sports network. I’m still surprised I get to call myself a Rhoden Fellow.

I am well traveled. Before the fellowship, I hadn’t been able to describe myself as such. I wrote about Howard quarterback Quinton Williams before my arrival in Atlanta for the Cricket Celebration Bowl, shadowed the NCAA communications team in April during the women’s Final Four in Cleveland and most recently provided social media coverage for the NFL draft in Detroit.

I have met influential people in sports and obtained useful communication skills. I also learned creating social media content is something I really enjoy, and storytelling doesn’t always come in written form. I am excited to see where this new direction leads me.

There isn’t a right way to have a historically Black college experience, but I might have been doing it wrong before the fellowship. Since I lived so close to home, I wasn’t on campus much. However, in an effort to research and write HBCU-related stories I found myself on the Yard a lot more, attending or working events – and actually having fun. I started making friends outside of the English department and paying close attention to news happening on my campus.

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Over the past four years, I have taken advantage of opportunities and chances the younger version of me wouldn’t have considered. Now I find myself faced with many new choices as I step into the next stage of my adult life.

This time, I welcome the choices because having options means my hard work has paid off.