“Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble” (Bote). This has been my goal since I began my time as a student at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). In my most role as the Advisor for Vocation & Career Development at Southern Seminary and Boyce College, I not only led the Office of Career Development, but overhauled the official webpage by creating and uploading nearly a dozen guides/templates (ranging from resume preparation “how-to” and a graduate school application guide resources from NACE ). Further, I deliberately placed photos of diverse members of the campus community (e.g., Black and Brown students/graduates, mothers and fathers, female doctoral graduates, Latinx administrators, and the like) in prominent locations online. Although less than 9 percent of the student body is Black, Hispanic, Native American, or Asian, I made these visual changes because “a sense of belonging . . . is a critical aspect in retaining all students, and particularly students of color” (Maestas, et. al. 238). Additionally, I negotiated a $60,000 five-year contract with Handshake that made Southern and Boyce the first of the Southern Baptist Convention’s colleges and seminaries to move to the premier career services management platform at that time. This organizational shift has resulted in increased access to–and an awareness of–a variety of careers beyond the pastorate and local church ministry, which are so often seen as the jobs par excellence within Christian circles. Further, this transition embedded my beliefs that all believers are called to serve God in their work, family, church, and civic life, and that all vocation (or employment) is calling from the Lord into the very fabric of the institution. This emphasis on the inherent value of all work–and the employees doing that work–is another major step toward diversity, equity, and inclusion. From watching my mother earn her degree (while putting me through private school by herself) and working alongside people from a variety of ethnicities/racial identities, sexual orientations, and other intersectionalities, I have learned that education and support systems are far more important than the name of the institution scrolled across the top of a diploma. Having worked exclusively in predominantly White institutions and organizations, I have also learned that any number of microaggressions, harmful assumptions, and structural inequities can be silencing and marginalizing at worst–and overcome or endured at best–but they should not have to be. I hope that I can be part of making structural changes that relegate the need to endure or stay silent a thing of the past. A sense of belonging should be the norm for all students and employees on every campus without exception. While I currently work in college admissions, my mid-range goal is to serve as a Associate/Assistant Diversity Officer, Director of Career Services, Student Success/Affairs, or a related student-facing field. My long-term goal is to serve as the director of such an office at a small to midsize college or university with an emphasis on increasing the equity of opportunity and outcomes of whatever programming is under my purview. In route to that final destination, I plan to earn my EdD in higher education/organizational leadership. I believe that these courses of study (with research in the areas of student belonging, academic success, and college access/retention, particularly among African American and/or Indigenous students) will provide me with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to benefit my institution and affect positive organizational change.

“Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble” (Bote). This has been my goal since I began my time as a student at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Working to make a welcoming and supportive environment for others has been the ongoing theme of my career journey. During my time as an Equal Opportunity Representative in the Marine Corps’ largest aircraft wing, I was the first point of contact for many who experienced discrimination, bullying, harassment, hazing, and/or other violations of Defense Department policies. I was also responsible for annual/onboarding training and administering command climate surveys for an organization of over 300 Sailors and Marines. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I created a recorded version of the required training that helped the Corps continue training its entry level officers during the period of mandated social distancing. In my most role as the Advisor for Vocation & Career Development at Southern Seminary and Boyce College, I not only led the Office of Career Development, but overhauled the official webpage by creating and uploading nearly a dozen guides/templates (ranging from resume preparation “how-to” and a graduate school application guide resources from NACE ). Further, I deliberately placed photos of diverse members of the campus community (e.g., Black and Brown students/graduates, mothers and fathers, female doctoral graduates, Latinx administrators, and the like) in prominent locations online. Although less than 9 percent of the student body is Black, Hispanic, Native American, or Asian, I made these visual changes because “a sense of belonging . . . is a critical aspect in retaining all students, and particularly students of color” (Maestas, et. al. 238). From watching my mother earn her degree (while putting me through private school by herself) and working alongside people from a variety of ethnicities/racial identities, sexual orientations, and other intersectionalities, I have learned that education and support systems are far more important than the name of the institution scrolled across the top of a diploma. Having worked exclusively in predominantly White institutions and organizations, I have also learned that any number of microaggressions, harmful assumptions, and structural inequities can be silencing and marginalizing at worst–and overcome or endured at best–but they should not have to be. I hope that I can be part of making structural changes that relegate the need to endure or stay silent a thing of the past. A sense of belonging should be the norm for all students and employees on every campus without exception. While I currently work in college admissions, my mid-range goal is to serve as a Associate/Assistant Diversity Officer, Director of Career Services, Student Success/Affairs, or a related student-facing field. My long-term goal is to serve as the director of such an office at a small to midsize college or university with an emphasis on increasing the equity of opportunity and outcomes of whatever programming is under my purview. In route to that final destination, I plan to earn my EdD in higher education/organizational leadership. I believe that these courses of study (with research in the areas of student belonging, academic success, and college access/retention, particularly among African American and/or Indigenous students) will provide me with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to benefit my institution and affect positive organizational change.

I was raised in a single-parent home by an amazing mother! Somehow she was able to earn her own bachelor's degree while paying for me to attend private school from K-12. Although I was raised in a Christian home and attended a Christian school, I did not come to know Christ until I began my undergraduate studies at Virginia Military Institute. During my time in elementary school I said the "Sinner's Prayer", but I experienced no life change. In middle school, I attended a charismatic church and submitted to the church's teachings, but I was still dead in my sins. There was a version of myself that I displayed on Sundays and another that I displayed during the week. All this changed when I met J. Jones in 2012. This Baptist layman explained repentance to me for the first time in my life and led me to understand that God's Word is sufficient to answer all life's questions. It was in Lexington, Virginia - at Faith Mountain Baptist Church - that I began a personal relationship with Christ. I am now a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and I live a life of faith in Christ's finished work as I seek to lead others to Him. Since I came to know Christ at VMI, I have felt called to some type of chaplain or student ministry. Although I had every intention of joining the Army Chaplaincy, those doors closed and I found myself in the Marine Corps. My call to chaplain and student ministry came in the form of a desire to be with people in their greatest and most tragic moments. As a chaplain within the VMI Corps of Cadets and the Boy Scouts of America, I have had the opportunity to lead chapel services, pray with the sick and lead the lost to Christ. Both internal and external calls have validated this desire over the last several years of my life. What led me to Southern Seminary is threefold. First, it was the passion, pride, and knowledge of the alumni and the quality of their education. Second, it was the history of the school and the amazing work of God in returning Southern to its founding principles. Finally, it was the faculty whose writings have impacted my life and walk with Christ in ways I can scarcely put into words. As I look to the future, my background gives me a deep belief in the value of education and a passion for removing barriers for other Black young people to achieve success similar to my own!