Minority Connection Initiative

Come out today to talk about Minority Student Perspectives on Environmentalism tonight at 6:30 at CAS B20!

Please join us on Thursday, March 31st, at the Howard Thurman Center, Room 207 with Professor Baez!

My life could have been completely different if I hadn't gone so far away. Both my parents have never lived anywhere else besides Michigan. Going to college, my parents went to a different part of the state, so they knew a lot of the same people. There was always the option to come back home. Sometimes I feel like I ask for too much to come back home, so usually I don't bring it up. I had a really big argument with my grandpa senior year of high school/freshman year of college. He hated Boston. All of my family hated Boston because they were like, "Boston hates Black people, why would you want to go there”? I told them, it’s not about that. It’s about the education. I wanted to try something new. But they wanted me to go to one school that was in state, that was close to home. I told my grandpa, I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to live here. I don't want to stay. And I think that was hard for him to deal with. And then, when he died this past year, that’s one of the things that I think back about. We ended up working through it, but I was like, you know what, this is my decision, and this is my life. I know you don’t agree with it, but I think that was one of the main moments in my life where I was like, you know what, I’m me, I’m my own person. I’m gonna stand up for myself, and I’m gonna do what I think I should do. And I’m really proud of myself for that.