Frederick Douglass once said “It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” This means that difficult circumstances are needed to become better versions of ourselves. As someone who overcame the difficulty of balancing academics, athletics, and involvement with clubs and organizations on campus, I personally agree with this statement. Based upon the qualities I developed during these difficult circumstances, Frederick Douglass would believe I’m deserving of a scholarship bearing his name. During my freshmen year of college, I had difficulty balancing academics and athletics. I had difficulty attending the scheduled practice times due to class conflicts.
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Being an African American on the RIT track team also proved to be a struggle. I believe the team lacked African Americans that were willing to compete for the team due to an environment that didn’t seem to support diversity. I constantly had to deal with my non African American teammates making ignorant comments regarding my race and culture. I can even recall someone saying “African Americans have gene’s that make them faster than the average person” mocking the hard work of African Americans on the team. I also had African American acquaintances who were on the team but retired before I joined. They mentioned lack of support from their non-African American teammates as a reason for quitting as well as being unable to manage both athletics and academics. At times I thought about retiring from track & field but I constantly thought of many students of color at RIT that retired from athletics. I decided that the trend of students of color discontinuing their athletic career due to ignorance would stop with me. Fast forward to today, there are currently 13 African American students including myself are on the team. A few of the 13 African American students are athletes that quit the sport originally. A majority …show more content…
Academics and athletics already proved difficult to manage but I wanted to get more involved. With the assistance of a friend, I became an MCAS affiliate by the end of my freshmen year. I also assisted two of my mentors in organizing an event called ‘Subliminals’ with Professor Kaba Kamene as the keynote speaker. I even performed a poem during the event. My sophomore year I joined Mental Graffiti and started attending events hosted by BACC and NSBE. I volunteered as a mentor for the Engineering Diversity Retreat. This event was an initiative program to increase the number of minorities in STEM related fields by inviting recently accepted minority students to spend the weekend with current minority students in STEM related fields. I am currently the public relations officer for BACC and general body member of NSBE. I’ve assisted in creating multiple events for BACC and I advertise these events to the RIT community. One of the events included a discussion about academic success. The other e-board members and I created a power point outlining methods that would help students succeed academically. We also organized events discussing police brutality, the 2016 presidential election, and issues affecting African Americans as well as people of color in general. I also volunteered to assist with the ‘Stand Strong and United Event’ which was an initiative to develop an
Being an African American on the RIT track team also proved to be a struggle. I believe the team lacked African Americans that were willing to compete for the team due to an environment that didn’t seem to support diversity. I constantly had to deal with my non African American teammates making ignorant comments regarding my race and culture. I can even recall someone saying “African Americans have gene’s that make them faster than the average person” mocking the hard work of African Americans on the team. I also had African American acquaintances who were on the team but retired before I joined. They mentioned lack of support from their non-African American teammates as a reason for quitting as well as being unable to manage both athletics and academics. At times I thought about retiring from track & field but I constantly thought of many students of color at RIT that retired from athletics. I decided that the trend of students of color discontinuing their athletic career due to ignorance would stop with me. Fast forward to today, there are currently 13 African American students including myself are on the team. A few of the 13 African American students are athletes that quit the sport originally. A majority …show more content…
Academics and athletics already proved difficult to manage but I wanted to get more involved. With the assistance of a friend, I became an MCAS affiliate by the end of my freshmen year. I also assisted two of my mentors in organizing an event called ‘Subliminals’ with Professor Kaba Kamene as the keynote speaker. I even performed a poem during the event. My sophomore year I joined Mental Graffiti and started attending events hosted by BACC and NSBE. I volunteered as a mentor for the Engineering Diversity Retreat. This event was an initiative program to increase the number of minorities in STEM related fields by inviting recently accepted minority students to spend the weekend with current minority students in STEM related fields. I am currently the public relations officer for BACC and general body member of NSBE. I’ve assisted in creating multiple events for BACC and I advertise these events to the RIT community. One of the events included a discussion about academic success. The other e-board members and I created a power point outlining methods that would help students succeed academically. We also organized events discussing police brutality, the 2016 presidential election, and issues affecting African Americans as well as people of color in general. I also volunteered to assist with the ‘Stand Strong and United Event’ which was an initiative to develop an