Dr. Jade Education Scholarship

The life of my dreams started in 2002 when I traveled to China, France, Hawaii, Italy, and Taipei exploring the market for products intended for export to the United States market. I thoroughly enjoyed meetings with dignitaries from other countries with various interests in business. During one year of rigorous travel and research I realized how there was so much more to international business development initiatives than I had ever discussed with my colleagues, clients, others in my inner circle or industry. When I was in China two decades ago, I jetted from international airport to private plane to meet my clients. My life was filled with business adventures spanning three continents often involving travel monthly which was an incredible global experience in international business education. A personal chauffer ensured I made it to each destination without any problems. I effortlessly transitioned from an obscure life as a fashion designer to meeting high-profile clients to present ideas and collaborate. Within a short time-frame I traveled the globe to attend events in Paris and New York, the fashion centers of the world. With only a passport and ideas I was awarded free reign into a world far-removed from anything I had experienced during my lifetime. It was an absolutely life-changing experience; one in which I will always treasure. Although life unfolded for me in disproportionate ways, I found myself perplexed at the notion that I had only obtained a standard, four-year education. I met with business leaders without experience in business. I traveled to foreign lands without speaking the language of my counterparts. I engaged in business research without a traditional education in development. Relying solely on a limited education I was granted the opportunity to produce and present a fashion collection independently in collaboration with twelve other fashion designers who would someday become recognized as the first cohort of fashion designers to launch Vietnam's first-ever fashion week conference. Within less than a week of activities, the country would become known as an avenue to explore uncharted territory. I met with shoe designers, sportswear manufacturers, independent jewelry designers, skilled basket weavers, website designers, exporters, importers, childrenswear manufacturers, textile mills, and skilled craftsman of every discipline. Business leaders, large and small, embraced my presence. Shared their stories. Engaged in conversations about art, culture, trade, and traditions. It was an amazing exchange of cultural expression framed within a formal context of international business and commerce My mornings were filled with meetings over coffee to discuss short-term and long-term projects. Each goal or objective was framed with illustrations, presentations, techniques, and conversations about how and why certain processes are relevant to different body types, cultures, markets, lifestyles. One discussion on embroidery led to more detail-oriented discussions on technical specifications, engineering, fabrications, and styling. Completely engrossed in the creative process from morning to night, I embraced the experience holistically, realizing that I had no formal education in design. The demand for new data superseded the limitations that I once felt could impede upon my ability to communicate with a design team in a foreign country with different processes, procedures and approaches to design. I was not hindered by language or cultural barriers nor did attitudes or local tastes and preferences detract from the experience. As the first African American designer to ever achieve global recognition for doing so, I decided to further my education in order to return to the world stage in a way that allows me to contribute on a global scale to make a difference. As a doctoral candidate, I realize the life of my dreams is within reach!

I wake up to bright sunlight pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows across from my bed, feel the warm island breeze and smell the hint of unfamiliar spices in the air. I grab the silky, white bedsheets beneath me just to make sure it’s real. I inhale the scent of clean linen. It’s real. I am thousands of miles away from home in Thailand, free of charge, on a work trip--my fifth trip in just three months. I’ll spend five days here making travel content for my award-winning social media accounts and blog website and I’ll have the other three days free to explore the city of Pa Tong and work on my latest Afro-futurist sci-fi novel. This doesn’t feel like “work” to me. Through my travel content on social media, I teach others that Black people also deserve to travel and to explore the world. I provide tips so that Black people, Black women in particular, will feel less afraid to step out of their comfort zone and explore the world. I am fortunate enough to provide a $1,000 study abroad scholarship to HBCU students once each semester. I also share about the history and culture of the places I visit, with special emphasis on African diasporic history and cultures. This fuses my love of storytelling (history) with my love of travel. In addition, having completed my Master’s in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, I had the courage, confidence, and expertise to embark on my novel writing dreams. I completed and published The Legend of the Zodiac, a zodiac-inspired fantasy novel with Black main characters. This became a best-seller and was praised for putting centering Black, BIPOC, queer and disabled people in an epic fantasy. I allow readers of all ages see themselves in a genre that’s traditionally white and male-centered. I aim to do the same in my forthcoming science-fiction novel. That’s what my dream life looks like to me. Along with these career goals, it is important for me to give back to my community, serving those less fortunate and guiding Black youth. In my current role as an academic advisor at an HBCU, I mentor hundreds of young, African-Americans as they pursue their academic goals. This matches my previous education background as being in a role where I serve others gives me great satisfaction. In my future life, I will remain active in my service orgnization, a historically Black sorority, in order to both serve and change the travel industry and literary landscape.

I have always been a big dreamer and dream chaser; wishing, while believing I would become a college graduate to escape poverty and soar beyond the statistics of my childhood community. Now that my dreams of becoming a college graduate are reality and I am pursuing an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, my life goals have become much clearer. The life of my dreams is brightly painted as spearheading, establishing, and actively teaching in an educational center with the mission “to provide solid education through an interactive learning style to prevent violence and increase literacy‭ ‬rates for youth within the community”. The center will provide its students with the opportunity to enhance their creativity and develop their intellectual abilities through hands on creative learning. My days would be filled with the sounds of joy and laughter from students expressing their excitement for learning. This would bring joy to my heart to know that every student at my school will receive the attention they need and deserve. Boredom would not exist, there would not be a dull moment. All subjects would be taught with enthusiasm and accommodations for all learning styles by teachers who agree with and stand for the school’s vision. The instructors will carry out the school’s mission using a common sense leadership approach. There would be emergency food and shelter assistance, neighborhood student bus pick up and drop off, certified instructors, study hall with private seating for independent study, hands-on skill building training, resume writing, safety training, and private support groups for suicide prevention and awareness. As a survivor and overcomer of peer bullying, I would pride myself in having a Bully Free Zone policy set in place. Every student will know that there is a zero tolerance for bullying. Also there will be an open door policy for students to seek help in confidence to eliminate retaliation. The community will have so much confidence in the center, that the support would be endless and will lead to lessening the impact of and eradicating the ongoing social issues. All social issues have a root cause. We would determine the root causes through a thorough community needs assessment to insure we are providing programs and services relevant to our target audience. No matter what happens in life, dreaming births hope. When one dreams, there is something to look forward to. I live each day knowing my dreams will become reality as long as I choose to never give up.

My favorite part about dreaming is that it's not as much pressure as settle goals. Don't get me wrong, I love working towards a goal, but when I dream, it's out of the box, and it relieves me of the pressures of my goals because dreams don't necessarily have to be realistic. When I imagine myself living the life of my dreams, I imagine myself wealthy and able to pour into every black athlete around the world. I would start professional sports leagues for HBCU and black students, build strength and conditioning facilities around the world with technology only the professionals have access to. This wouldn't only benefit athletes, because in the world of business, there's a job for everyone. This dream would have to involve coaches, mentors, therapists, psychologists, physical therapists, doctors, trainers, chefs, nutritionists, tutors, and much more where that comes from. As a former collegiate student athlete, I know I needed all of this. I needed a community, and not everyone has access to these things. Mental and physical health are two of the most important things for anyone, but especially for a young adult using their body every day to pay for school or take their talents to the next level. Going from a PWI to a HBCU, I know that resources start to run slim especially when it comes to athletics. At Clark Atlanta, I ran so much, that my shoes grew holes and I formed stress reactions in my metatarsals on my right foot. Meanwhile at Kennesaw State, we had a pair of shoes for practice, a pair for home games, a pair for away games, and a pair for breast cancer awareness month. Black students deserve better. Black athletes deserve to be reimbursed for their hard work the same way athletes at a PWI would. Providing an environment for black students and athletes to be surrounded by the proper love and care that they deserve would help them perform in the classroom. They would be surrounded by people that look like them and want to pour into them. They would be taught to become leaders by those who care about more than how they are performing on the field/court right now, but how they are performing in life after the ball stops. Black athletes are more than just what they do on the field, but some of us need help finding that out about ourselves. My dream is to provide an environment for black athletes to excel in their sports, classroom, life, and post-graduation while being surrounded by black leaders, mentors, friends, and family with similar goals. We have suffered, we have had our ideas and talents striped from us. We deserve better, and it’s ok for us to do things for ourselves. This Dream is investing in our future.

My dream life would be surrounded by happiness and health. I would be comfortable with myself and in my skin. For me, this looks like managing my health and wellness. I want to have a life where I am actively managing my anxiety and depression, keeping active, and focusing on my spiritual connection with God. This dream life involves me focusing on the betterment of myself. I wish to always be challenging myself to learn and grow in ways that I have not experienced. I will likely have pursued higher education. I will build a rehabilitation center for women. I want to create a safe space for survivors of traumatic events to recover from their injuries. I would work with like-minded women in healthcare to provide spaces for Black Woman to receive care. I also want to work in maternal health care, focusing on providing women with the resources to obtain safe birthing plans. The maternal morbidity of Black women around the world is something that I want to spend a lot of time advocating for. I would love to work closely with a non-profit that focuses on the health and wellness of Black Women. In this dream life I want to be the best friend, sister, daughter, and aunt that I can be. I want to be present in the lives of my loved ones. I want to continue to grow in these relationships as they are so important to me. I will have enough to support my family, allowing my mom to retire. My entire family will be in optimal health and living out their dreams as they see fit. My dream life includes travel, philanthropy, advocacy, and volunteerism. My mother has always wanted to build a women's clinic in. I her native home of Sierra Leone and it would be amazing to help her actualize this dream. I hope to travel the world and experiences all the pleasantries that life has to offer. My dream life includes enjoyment, laughter, and nature. I would love to visit every continent at least once with my loved ones. I am most looking forward to exploring Africa. I want to be able to build a home for my family in Sierra Leone. I hope that my family and I are able to visit frequently. I want my future children and nieces and nephews to be able to connect with our culture.