Constantly educating myself is critically important to me. As an African American male, I must take extra steps to ensure I build the network, skills, and knowledge to succeed in today’s society. Knowing this motivates me and led me to my journey at SEED.
My path to SEED started at Baltimore’s Annual School Choice Fair—an annual fair where families and students can learn about the middle and high schools available for enrollment. Attending this fair was valuable to me because I wanted to go to a school with a quality education that would help me with my goal of getting to college. At the fair, SEED was one of the schools that really caught my eye—I was intrigued by the boarding component. And after I toured SEED MD’s large campus, I began to imagine myself staying in one of the dormitories. I knew SEED was the place for me. However, it took my parents a bit more convincing—but when they learned about the academics, Sparks (extracurricular opportunities to explore interests and passions), and study abroad programming, they began to come around.
I enrolled at SEED MD in 2016 when I was eleven years old. I immediately developed close bonds with my peers, teachers, and counselors. I felt like I could go to them with things that I didn’t feel comfortable discussing with anyone else. I considered SEED home.
Most kids growing up in my neighborhood haven’t attended professional football and baseball games—and they especially haven’t traveled to Brazil to learn about other cultures, languages, and experiences. I also developed a love for the performing arts and joined SEED’s Showstoppers theater troupe. We performed the classic story Sleepy Hollow and gained a better understanding of the arts through a program with the Baltimore Center Stage.
My journey at SEED led me to study nursing and theater arts at Albright College in Pennsylvania. I am currently in my freshman year. Transitioning to a predominantly white college in southeastern Pennsylvania has been challenging. But my seven years of living away from home at a boarding school, the support of my SEED college success advisor, and the generous fi nancial aid package off ered have helped to make the adjustment a bit easier. I have also joined the African American Society and Domino’s Club and look forward to exploring Albright’s study abroad program once I have gotten accustomed to campus life here. These resources serve as an outlet and a way for me to connect with peers that share some of my interests and experiences.
I don’t have many male role models in my family that graduated from college, so I felt like earning a degree was something that I needed to do. I’ve worked hard to get here—I deserve to be here and I thank SEED for helping to put me in the position to make a difference in my family.