Comments:
So much has happened since 1989.
Of course, I've grown up a lot, both emotionally and physically anyway. I remember waiting a very long time to grow facial hair! But once this "Empire Carpet" (I sometimes call my mustache and full beard) came, I couldn't get rid of it! But, I figured it was part of "growing into adulthood," because I didn't grow any of it until after I turned 25. However, I keep it very neat and trimmed.
For a short while, I attended Columbia College downtown and majored in journalism, but, I packed what little belongings I had and moved to Houston, transferring to Texas Southern University (a Historically Black College in Houston), earned $10,000 in total scholarships and a BA (Cum Laude) in Journalism with a minor in French. I've had reporting internships with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, San Antonio Express-News, The Arizona Republic (as a Pulliam Journalism Fellow) and the Chicago Tribune. I've also spent time reporting at African-American weeklies (some paid, some not, life's a mess, I tell ya.)
What I liked most about undergrad is the many great friends and wonderful mentors that appeared in, and continue to be, a part of my existence--and I was able to LEAVE Chicago for a while. As a journalism student, you learn to apply for everything that includes FREE airfare, housing and a weekly stipend if any....as what happened to me... (as a struggling full-time student, NEVER pass up free aid if its legitimate!)
I promised myself never to return to Chicago to stay without this degree in hand! While hustling to earn this BA, I realized something: I am the only one of my siblings that finished high school, and the first in my family to have earned a bachelor's. (My mom earned an associate's when I was in 8th grade.)
At present, I am in grad school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwauee completing studies for an MS in Cultural Foundations of Education. I should finish by December, 2010. Then, I'll go to work as an Education Reporter at a newspaper of magazine SOMEWHERE.
