By Staff
What would you like to do professionally and why?
Coming into college I didn’t know what I wanted to do in my future, but I wanted to handle money, investments, & bankings. During my freshman year, I learned and understood the beginnings of finance while incorporating the understanding of how to run a business or firm. I was blessed to receive a Discover One internship at Deloitte in Chicago to learn about consulting, risk & financial advisory, tax, and audit assurance. Learning these things, I was learning from the best of the best in the firm to understand what I should do with my future and learn more about the firm. I was excited to know more about myself and understanding what my heart was leading me to do for my future. I decided I wanted to do RFA. I wanted to do RFA because navigating a business or firm brings opportunities of any type of risk that will harm the firm. This was a skill I was challenged on, but was driven to understand the concepts. Taking care of others’ money is really important and I want to be trusted with that. Although I still have a bright future ahead of me with choosing a professionality, this is a great start to what is to come!
Given your GPA and scores, why did you decide to attend North Carolina A&T?
Given my GPA scores from Kenwood Academy high School, I was accepted into 13 colleges. My parents and sister all attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Even though the school was an amazing institution, I wanted to go to an out of state school & an Historically Black Colleges and Universities. An HBCU was heavily encouraged by all of my teachers and staff at Kenwood. So, my family and I booked a flight to Greensboro, North Carolina to tour North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. This school was one of my top 3 choices for college and once I stepped foot on the campus I was in all. The campus looked so beautiful and the AGGIE PRIDE was definitely in the atmosphere. Not only that, I was able to talk to the director of the Business department and Honors College to see how my undergraduate school year would be handled if I attended there. A couple months later, I was accepted into the Honors College and received a scholarship from my department. I knew then I needed to attend the University and I don’t regret going to the illustrious A&T!
Tell us about your first year at North Carolina A&T.
Going into your freshman year of college is a huge stepping stone. Attending a school down south was dramatically different from up north for me. Students saying soda instead of pop, different music & many different things was something I always laughed about. Getting to know where everyone comes from and how they were raised is something you’ll see a lot. I can honestly say I was 99.99999% nervous to actually speak to students. That’s common though and there’s nothing wrong with that. But, joining orgs/ clubs helped me branch out of my comfort zone. I’ve joined a business club, played instrumental tennis, started photography, and played the piano with different students on campus. Doing this, I’ve created friendships that I’ve never thought I could create. Creating bonds helped me because I’ve faced depression, anxiety, and trauma my first year of school. Having a foundation of support was given to me by talking to therapists on campus and close friends. College isn’t for the weak I’ll tell you. In the end, I finished with a 4.0 GPA. I have no one other than God to thank! A 4.0 GPA doesn’t just mean I was super smart. To me it demonstrated that I was able to overcome adversity, be on my own in a brand new state, dealing with teachers, overcome struggles, be able to go to entertainment functions around campus all while diligently completing work. This was a great win for me!
Tell us about your internship experience.
Like I said before learning about my professionality, I greatly enjoyed my internship experience at Deloitte. I was able to stay in my home city in Chicago and take the metra train to Deloitte downtown. I loved to dress professionally every morning and get ready to learn more about the firm everyday for the 5 weeks I was there. Discovery One gave me the opportunity to know how much Deliotte does for different companies and how to work on projects with different people. The work place was filled with very nice & genuine people all around. Everyone working in the office wanted to talk and help interns with anything that they needed. With the great summer I had with Deloitte, I’m happy to say I’ve received a return offer for next year back in Chicago. This is just the beginning still!
What are three of the most meaningful lessons you have learned being in college?
The 3 most meaningful lessons I’ve learned being in college is to check up on people and see where they are mentally. I’ve seen someone commit suicide in my dorm and the fact she didn’t have no one she could’ve talked to before taking her life shouldn’t have happened. Secondly, you don’t have to go to every party. Parties are always going to be there, trust me I know. If you can’t handle both party life and school life, what are you doing? Honestly, because you’re paying all this money for school and you are not able to handle the main reason why you wanted to go to school is a problem. Lastly, go to a career fair and apply for internships. Many big companies and firms are looking for bright Black women and men to hire. Build a resume with things you’ve done that you may think why firms should choose you.
What are some of your hobbies and interests?
My main hobby is learning how to read more music to play the piano. Also, teaching kids with disabilities how to play certain sports such as: soccer, tennis, track, basketball, football, etc. Also, I’m currently learning how to grill and I can throw a good rib down for you!
