One of my favorite parts about being here at SPIA is the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) dinners. Every Thursday, I meet with other MPA students for insightful conversations. It’s refreshing to have a safe space to share mine and other Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students' life experiences with our colleagues, without feeling hostility in the room. That’s a large part of what makes SPIA memorable to me. Truthfully, I didn’t expect to be here. Following my graduation from Howard University, I didn’t have a job lined up. I was searching and applying, but I became discouraged as I kept getting ‘thank you for applying’ messages. The job hunt was brutal. I applied to the Peace Corps and was fully prepared to enter into service in August 2020, but the pandemic got in the way. After this disappointment, I knew I had to be more strategic in my approach, so I reevaluated my strategy to get professional experience in development. I worked locally in different community development organizations to get the poverty-alleviation experience. I also applied for internships, landing one with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. That experience helped me to learn more about community development and antipoverty mitigation efforts on a small scale, but I wanted to have a bigger impact. So I applied to various graduate schools, and SPIA landed as the best option. At SPIA, I am studying anti-poverty mitigation efforts.

For any prospective graduate students or those making steps in their career, I challenge you to be open. Talk to new people, facilitate conversations better, build connections, try things you’ve never done before, and learn something new every day.