In 1986, my aunt married a man who was originally from Ohio. In the summer of 1987, we (my grandparents and great aunt) drove to Columbus, Ohio for what had started out as a family reunion. That ended up being canceled, but my grandparents, ever the domestic travelers, decided to go anyway.
I remember several things about this trip. The first thing is the Pickett Suite Hotel (which became a Doubletree in 1995). This was the probably the second or third time I’d stayed in a hotel. And this was by far the “ritziest”.
There was also a street fair right outside the hotel on the river. I remember going out and walking around with my adults and getting street fare food. This probably began my love affair with food served from carts.
But the most impactful thing about this trip was a visit to The Ohio State University.. It was the first time I had ever set foot on a college campus. I got a t-shirt and a pair of shorts that I wore until they fell apart and you couldn’t tell me that I wasn’t going to Ohio State. The only other contender was UNLV (they entered my radar when they won the NCAA tournament in 1990. )
Ironically, I don’t remember when I actually understood what college is. I only remember knowing I was going to go there one day. Another piece of irony is that I don’t think I applied to either school when the time came. I recall applying to UMBC, Temple, UMD and Carnegie Mellon. I was also accepted to Coppin and Morgan but don’t recall actually applying. Carnegie Mellon sent my admission letter week after I had had complete Summer Bridge at UMBC
Fast forward, I believe I ended up where I was meant to be., no matter how opposed I was to attending UMBC after spending 4 years in a precollege program there. (I was in a program called Horizons Explorations Program or HEP, that was UMBC’s pilot of Upward Bound Math/Science. HEP was funded by the National Science Foundation).
My long, drawn out point is that I truly believe in the work I do, from personal experience. I didn’t come from a college going family. My mother and aunt earned bachelors degrees in their 40s. I did have a network of people, including family, who exposed me to ideas and situations and fostered the love of learning that I still have. I hope that the work I do helps open doors for students at all levels of their journey.
Lifting as I Climb 