Giving Back

As we engage with the many aspects of our lives, we consistently learn tools to manage ourselves. As many of us engage in new territories, as we go to college for the first time, move across country for the first time, as we travel abroad for the first time, as we apply for a position in a new field for the first time, as we set out on an adventure we never imagined, what we learn we should indeed share. My goal to provide for those after me, what I did not have, is also founded in the ways that I individually and collectively give back to my communities.

These are some of the ways that I give back:

Phyllis Marie Brackett Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is named after and is in memory of my late mother who passed away in January 2018 from complications with breast cancer.

This scholarship is a scholarship for the transition from high  school to college. The period between high school graduation and welcome week of college can be more difficult for girls like me. An African American female, first generation, lower income, who focuses academically but still contends with the fact that she is the only one in her family to take on the journey of higher education.

This Transition Scholarship will go to an African American young lady from Monticello High School, located in Charlottesville, Virginia every year. It is the girl like me scholarship. Click below to learn about recipients.

Collaborations in Ghana

Having spent time extensive time in Ghana, I have seen the beauty, and knowledge of oneself that comes with traveling outside of your home country. I have two major collaborations occurring in Ghana.

In December 2019, I launched a short-term study abroad at my university taking students to Ghana. This is an important way to give back, because you create a space for identity development for youth, but also provide a way for youth to view the world from a perspective outside of their home country. It teaches them how to manage traveling in unknown spaces, and what to expect while traveling and during intercultural exchange.

I have also worked in the past with a non-profit that took two African American youth to Ghana along with the Sister City delegation from my home town, Charlottesville, VA.

My second collaboration is as an international partner for a Non-profit organization called Glefe Youth Ghana, located in the greater Accra area. I have been asked to provide international insight on their endeavors for growth. I am here to provide a bridge to various ways they can be supported beyond the borders of Ghana. Currently, I am supporting the founder by promoting their fundraising efforts to be sustainable. They were founded in 2012. Click here to learn more about our journey to collaborate.

But Some of Us Are Brave: Narratives of Scholarship, Resistance, and Activism by Women/Womxn of Color

This lecture series was co-founded by myself and my colleague and friend, Sarah West. Started in 2018 at the University of Puget Sound to engage students, faculty and staff with womxn who share knowledge in various ways. The goal of this series was more than for the community listening to these womxn. The goal included providing these womxn space to share their narratives, but also a space to be supported. Our goal was to create connections for the womxn beyond what they already had, and to also give them tools for future engagement with communities.