I am three generations removed from sharecropping. Raised by military parents who always kept cameras in their hands and music serenading through the house, my only choice was to be a globally minded resourceful creative.

I grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina on a side of town where my high school experience was marked by violence in the hallways from students and school resource officers, drug use, teen pregnancies, and limited resources. There was also community, excellence in artistry, and resilience.

My experiences at UNC Chapel Hill following high school left me with a strong sense of imposter syndrome, a feeling of survivor’s guilt, and difficulty reconciling the stark contrast of the apparent quality of life people lived at Chapel Hill versus what I saw in Fayetteville.

I left undergrad unsure of what to do with my new editing and graphic design journalism degree. I just knew that whatever I did, I needed it to matter. I was offered the divine opportunity to become a Carolina College Adviser with the national College Advising Corps.

After hearing my high school experience, the program paired me with the historic West Charlotte High School, a Title I School about 8 miles outside of Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. My first day there felt like stepping back into my high school in Fayetteville. It was my three years serving these students and this community that became my why for pursuing social work and more importantly social justice.