We asked some of the brightest folks from within the community to reflect back on their days in school and to share with us a story of when they learned a particularly important or impactful lesson. We’ve shared highlights below.

Kiana Ebone’

At Howard University I studied in the Department of Fine Arts, with a concentration in Dance. I had danced my entire life, starting at 3 years old. To most, when they hear you’re a dance major, they think it is all fun and games. Jokes on you, that department was probably the most difficult place you could be! lol. As a dance major, we had to take our major classes and rehearsals either earlier or later than our core classes, meaning our day started and ended before anyone was even awake. Read more>>

Anthony White

I was in high school and it was toward the end of my junior year. I went to North Andover High School in Massachusetts. One day my guides councilor asked me a very simple question I couldn’t even answer myself. She asked me “What are you good at? What are your talents?” Now I wasn’t a straight A student student in high school I actually had a problem skipping class. I was on a IEP in school so please don’t think I was one of the best when I came to school. You know when you think of school you have to be good at the basic classes to figure out a college root or to even know if your going to be good at your major. Read more>>

Esther Gutierrez

Entrepreneurship is not easy, but it sure can be fun! And it can feel like all fun and games when you are creating cute Canva graphics but when you get down to the nitty gritty of running a profitable business, things get real really fast. Now you actually have to dig deep inside you and remember your “why” for creating a business so that you can continue to make your business a priority every single day. Read more>>

Ellie Hunja

One of my greatest lessons in school – particularly in the transition from high school to college – was truly beginning to understand the value in each of our unique stories. Like many of us, I spent much of high school agonizing over what people thought of me. I absolutely loved my high school experience – which I know is more than what many people can say – but the thought of truly leaning into my individuality seemed counter to a central goal in high school: fitting in. This was layered with the fact that I already stood out as a white person in a majority-Black high school. Read more>>