Self-care is the best care is a motto I like to live by. Mental Health plays a huge part in the community, especially in the black community. I try to treat myself when I feel like I am overwhelmed. The things I do to be proactive in my self-care routine is to watch relaxing ASMR videos on youtube about spa treatments rather it be facials, massages, etc. This helps me create a vision of what I want. I listen to relaxing music or music that feeds my soul. Another thing I do is take trips to the nail salon to be pampered, I meditate and do yoga with my diffuser running with lavender essential oil. But the thing that relaxes me the most is being by any type of water which could be me showering in the natural sunlight, walking around a lake, swimming in the pool, or just sitting in a hot tub. The water makes me feel most connected with not only myself but with nature. Walking around and breathing in the fresh air especially in the warmer months is the perfect remedy for relaxation. Self-care comes in all forms these are the forms that help me regain my balance and to clear my head.

~Tryna Make It Album by Lotus~ Track 1 - Does this really feel like home? Track 2 - Community Service Is The Best feat. My Line Sisters Track 3 - Teacher’s Don’t Care About Us Track 4 - Relationship Ties feat. My Boo Track 5- Student loans Has To Go!! Track 6 - Should I Drop out? Track 7- T- Minus Six Months Till Graduation Bonus Track- Holiday Break Mix - Feat Vibes GC

As a young black woman, I knew it would be hard for me to get far at a PWI especially in a predominately white industry such as hospitality. With these thoughts, I decided to go to Morgan State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality. At Morgan, I joined the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH) my freshman year. Since then I have been able to meet with different companies to interview, attended resume workshops, etc. With this preparation, I was able to secure a hotel job with the Hilton as a front desk agent the summer after my freshman year. I learned about guest interaction, how to handle tough situations with co-workers. This experience confirmed why I decided to be a hospitality major. Though some days were harder than others I learned a lot about myself in the process and that I love helping people have a great experience while staying wherever I work. With this first job, it was a huge accomplishment not only for myself since it was my first real job but it was my first real job in my major which has opened other doors for me in my career. A little after the pandemic during my junior year, I was able to work at Buffalo Wild Wings as a host/expo. Working at Buffalo I realized I wanted to stay in the hotel industry. Foodservice was too chaotic for my liking with the high demands of deliveries, seating people down, etc. During my junior year, I felt confident in my skills with the experiences from my classes, organizations, and my job experiences to go after an internship in California since I want to move out there in the future. This was huge because I had wanted to go my sophomore year but I was scared due to the distance and the pandemic hit so I was sent home to New Jersey. I realized one day that now is a great time to take a leap of faith to pursue a dream I had lost out on so I applied for any internships in California. I eventually was offered a position as an activities intern for Marriott Vacations Worldwide this past summer. From this, I learned that I can do anything I put my mind to. During my internship, I interviewed the Front Office Manager and HR Manager both had shed some light on how things are run. My internship was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my industry I made new friends, learned about California, made Standard Operations Procedures (SOP’s), I even shadowed under the Front Desk to see the difference between how a resort is run and an executive property like Hilton. Once my internship concluded I realized that I want to do a manager in a training program after speaking to a recent Penn State graduate who moved there straight after graduation. This motivated me to want to apply after graduation and during my grad school matriculation.

A memory that I love is when we couldn’t afford cable so my mom and I would watch old movies and tv shows on DVD. One of my favorite movies we watched was Dreamgirls between singing and crying with my mom and hearing her sing the song “I Love You I Do” very passionately. Memories like this make me think about being thankful for what you do have in the simplest moments because of this time I spent with mom watching the DVDs I grew to love the arts and built a deeper bond with her.