SPELMAN COLLEGE

ETHEL WADDELL GITHII HONORS PROGRAM

My summer at John Hopkins

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Interviewed by Miah Hardy

Asia Reese is a sophomore Comparative Women’s Studies major, African Diaspora Studies minor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana who was a participant in a pilot research cohort at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Thank you for sitting down for this interview. What are your career aspirations?

Upon graduating from Spelman, I want to become a Humanities or Social Sciences professor.

It’s fantastic to hear about Black women aiming to diversify the academy! Tell me more about your research experience.

This summer, I participated in the pilot cohort of the First-Year Research Experience through Johns Hopkins University. This program was a subset of the Andrew Mellon Foundation which funds opportunities for less-represented groups within academia to gain research opportunities. This year, they partnered with HBCUs to give current first-year students opportunities to complete interdisciplinary research within the Humanities. I was granted the ability to research film and queer theory using the movie Moonlight as my literature of choice.

It sounds like your summer research experience definitely prepared you for your career goals after Spelman. How has being a part of the Spelman College Honors Program helped you to navigate those spaces in academia?

The Spelman College Honors Program has taught me my value as a Black woman and as a scholar as complementary identities. All of the HBCU students within the program offered different perspectives because we were more conscious of the different layers of a person’s identity that would impact their experiences. The Honors Program requiring classes such as Honors Philosophy and Honors Composition taught me how to be more critical of what other people perceive as truths. I have become more introspective and reflective thanks to the Honors Program.

You represented Spelman College and the Honors Program well. Do you have any advice for Honors Program students who may feel intimidated by the application process of competitive research opportunities like the one you participated in this summer?

Be yourself and believe in your Spelman education. Though the programs are described as “competitive”, the classes in which we take at Spelman require as much, if not more, critical analysis. You will be prepared and remember to always put your best foot forward. Understand that you will be going into a space in which you are the minority instead of the majority, meaning that every move you make, whether it be right or wrong, will be charged to the institution, not you as an individual. Your Spelman sisters will also support you through your academic experience because I definitely felt the sisterhood while I was in Baltimore, hundreds of miles away from Spelman and my home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

junior year away from 350 by Faty-Sharon Sylla

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Hi everyone, my name is Faty-Sharon Sylla (C’2018 )and I am an international studies and comparative women’s studies double major. Although my major in international studies requires that I spend a semester abroad, my status as an international student (I am from France), exempted me from that requirement.

Instead, I decided to use my junior year to explore the united states a little bit more and tickle my academic interests, spending the fall in the nation’s capital and the spring in the capital of the world.

Below are blogs from my personal blog leblogdefaty.com where I speak upon my experience away from the gates of Spelman.

click on the links for illustrations.

Enjoy!

FALL 2016 part 1 http://www.leblogdefaty.com/en/2016/09/04/the-frenchie-in-dc-on-to-a-good-start/

Good evening humans!

As some of you people might already know, I am currently in Washington, D.C., and honestly, it feels like I am at the center of the world!

First things first, for those who do not know why or that I am even in the capital city, let me explain. I am participating in an exchange program at American University (which is located in DC). The program I’m a part of is the Washington Semester Program, and I am enrolled in the International Law and Organizations concentration. From Monday to Wednesday morning, I am supposed to be interning, and for the rest of the week, I have to attend seminars. The seminars consist of lectures, discussion, field visits, and guest lecturers cool, right? There are 18 other humans in my concentration which I really like because I don’t do people, coming from all over the world, and we all share one professor, Dr. Maisch.

As you may guess, a girl is rather busy, and has tons of readings to do, but I am really passionate about the subject matter, making it less of a burden however those who know me well know that being a nerd doesn’t prevent me from being le procrastinator. Anyway, last week started pretty well. On

Wednesday afternoon, I attended a talk by the Honorable Ambassador Barbara Stephenson what a title!, former American ambassador to Panama and President of the American Foreign Service Association. It was quite a motivating speech, in which she mentioned the new global threats, which are now non-state actors, such as global warming yes it is real, and global epidemics. She also highlighted the importance of international affairs in this new age. The next day, we went to the United Nations Information Center and met with it’s Director, M. Robert Skinner. We obviously talked about the UN, its history and its role, as well as the new challenges the international organizations now face, such as Daesh, and its quite problematic if you ask me administration and functioning. And next week, we are going to the Holocaust Museum.

Enough about school, let’s talk about the cool tings aka the capital city! I have to admit that I might have just fallen in love with DC… sorry NYC. I am lucky to live 5 minutes walking from AU, and the bus ride to downtown is only about 25 minutes! I live in a pretty nice neighborhood, very green but quite urbanized i like that *DJ KHALED voice*. I share an apartment with Joy, my Nigerian babes, it feels weird to have our own place! Here she is, followed by my working space adulting, i’m telling y’all, our living room, and my side of the room. 🙂

part 2 http://www.leblogdefaty.com/en/2016/12/31/2016-is-finally-over/

2016 was an interesting year, won’t you say so? and, personally, it was was of the best year of my life. sorry not sorry. Okay, yeah, universally, it was a $hitty year, but for Faty, it wasn’t an unpleasant was of spending 365 days. As you already know, I did and presented research TWICE in 6 months, the lowest grade I obtained this entire year was a A-, and I got a perfect GPA this semester. I also spent my summer in the wonderful place that is Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and my fall at the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and their amazing Middle East Books. So academically and professionally speaking, I had an awesome year!

Alright, I confess, financially and emotionally it was not the BEST year (not at all). So I have this problem where my subconscious self believes that I am Rothschild’s daughter and does not seem to comprehend what “living on a budget” means. It was then indeed a difficult year, especially when you add the “misunderstanding” that happened with my scholarship, leaving me broke AF (and seriously considering dancing on a pole). Anyway, I end 2016 financially worse than I started it (even I did not know that was possible). Now emotionally. Well, one of the reason why I did not write as much (at all), was mainly because of my mental state. Mentally and emotionally, it was not quite easy because 2016 marked ten years since my aunt and my father reached the stars. And I remember telling 2006 Faty that everything will be alright in ten years, but I was wrong. And then comes in my insecurities, my lack of self-love, and my abundance of self-doubt, which, all mixed together, do not make the most tasteful cocktail. However for the first time in ten years, I sought help. I acknowledged that I had issues and that I needed to find solutions. There were ups and downs, but al-hamdulillah, I made it, and I am better. And I am proud of myself for that. So overall, I would say that 2016 was okay.

I am not going to make empty promises this time of the year, because I do not want to be reminded of them by my mother, nor to have Joy who i will miss a bit ask me all the was from Dakar “don’t you have a blog?”. Anyway, I invite you to become a better self within the next 365 (6?) days, and I wish you all an excellent 2017.

 

With hope and love,

Faty.

SPRING 2017

 

Congrats to Shanice!

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Scholarship recipient at Boonshoft School of Medicine plans to serve in an underserved community

Shanice Robinson, a third-year medical student at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, has been awarded a two-year scholarship from the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), a federal government program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Health Workforce.

The NHSC awards scholarships to medical students committed to primary care. The scholarship pays tuition, fees, other educational costs and provides a living stipend in return for a commitment to work at least two years at an NHSC-approved site in a medically underserved community. For each year of financial support, the medical student agrees to serve one year at an NHSC-approved site in a high-need urban, rural or frontier community. Service begins after completion of primary care residency training.

Robinson plans to go into primary care and serve in an underserved community after residency to fulfill her two-year commitment to NHSC. After her commitment ends, she plans to continue to serve underserved communities.

“I want to go into primary care because primary health care embodies and promotes key aspects of medicine, including health literacy, disease prevention management, continuity of care, individualized treatment for varying illnesses and prolonged health maintenance,” said Robinson, who is from Canton, Ohio. “I want to work in an underserved area and focus on women’s health, prenatal access, sexual health education, elimination of reproductive health disparities and international health.”

The NHSC scholarship means a lot to Robinson. “This scholarship will help me tremendously by lessening the financial burden and allowing me to continue to focus on my studies while I complete the remainder of my medical school journey,” she said.

Her journey to medical school began when she was a child. She had a deep passion for science.

“I found myself curious about everything related to science. I was always asking questions,” said Robinson, who will graduate in May 2019. “I was always excited to learn.”

Her aunt inspired her throughout childhood. She encouraged her and sacrificed a lot to ensure that Robinson and her twin sister had opportunities to succeed.

“My aunt embodies what it means to be selfless, loving, caring, strong and hard-working,” Robinson said. “I wouldn’t be here to today without her love, guidance, strength and sacrifice.”

Robinson graduated from Spelman College with a bachelor’s degree in biology. She wants to become a physician to make a difference in the lives of others through healing, advocacy, resources and empowerment.

“A career in medicine allows me to marry so many passions and interests that I have, such as my passion and love for science, yearning and desire to help others, the constant ability to grow and gain knowledge and the amazing opportunity to be a change agent and make a difference,” Robinson said. “My mission is to be an advocate for affordable and quality health care in underserved communities. I will dedicate my career to addressing the medical needs of those in poverty.”

She chose to attend the Boonshoft School of Medicine for several reasons. “When I interviewed here, I got a true sense of the family-oriented community, and I felt so welcomed,” Robinson said. “I love the different avenues of peer learning that the Boonshoft School of Medicine offers, including team-based learning and peer instruction sessions.”

Robinson has enjoyed her experience as a medical student at the Boonshoft School of Medicine. The opportunity to rotate through the nine teaching hospitals affiliated with the Boonshoft School of Medicine has provided her with an opportunity to encounter a diverse range of patients, practices and facilities.

“I truly love that we have the opportunity to rotate through all of the different teaching hospitals in the area,” she said. “This real-world experience is preparing me for my medical career.”

At the Boonshoft School of Medicine, Robinson has been involved in several student organizations, including American Medical Women’s Association; Obstetrics and Gynecology Club; Reach Out of Montgomery County, a free clinic that provides health care access to the uninsured and underinsured population of Dayton; and Student to Student, a community education program run by medical students. She also has been a student member of the Admissions Committee at the Boonshoft School of Medicine and has served as a mentor for Horizons in Medicine, a Boonshoft School of Medicine program that provides local high school students, mostly from disadvantaged or minority backgrounds, a sense of career possibilities in health care. In 2016, she traveled to Togo, West Africa, as part of a student-initiated elective.

http://webapp2.wright.edu/web1/newsroom/2017/11/30/scholarship-recipient-at-boonshoft-school-of-medicine-plans-to-serve-in-an-underserved-community/

Thomiah Dudley Explains Cords!

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White and Light Blue

Summa Cum Laude (With Highest Praise)

Light Blue & Orange

Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program

Purple  & White

Kappa Delta Epsilon Education Honor Society

Maroon & Yellow

National Society for Collegiate Scholars

Blue & Gold

Golden Key International Honor Society

White, Red, Yellow

Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society

White, Red, Black

Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society

Yellow

Education Departmental Honors

Purple & Green

Kappa Delta Pi Professional Education Honor Society

Purple & Gold

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity Honor Society

& Political Science Departmental Honors

 

Scholarly Yours,

 

Thomiah Dudley

 

In My Journey: A Piano Recital

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On Sunday, February 19, 2017, Miss Kyana Waters gave her senior recital in partial completion of the requirements for her Minor in Music. The repertoire consisted of classical and contemporary selections including Mozart and Debussy, as well as a duet arrangement of Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” featuring Miss Jesénia Jackson (c/o 2018). For the second half of the program, Miss Waters, in celebration of her Major, International Studies (Latin American Studies concentration) and her love for international travel, featured four composers of Hispanic origin from countries she visited and lived in: Ernesto Lecuona (Cuban), Manuel Ponce (Mexican), Enrique Granados (Spanish), Tania León (Cuban-American). Miss Waters, invited her audience to travel with her to each of these places through her music and a special presentation of photos from her travels.

The afternoon was well attended with representatives of the Music Department, International Studies Department, Spanish Department, Honors Program, Spelman College Glee Club, and Phi Beta Delta International Honors Society, in addition to other faculty, staff, students and their families that were able to make it out during the last day of Spelman’s annual Family Weekend.

Kyana with her Grandmother and Mother

 

 

History of Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program

Established in 1980, the Honors Program was renamed the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program in 1992. A distinguished scholar, teacher, and Spelman graduate, Dr. Githii served as the director of the Honors Program from 1985 to 1990.

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