“Last week I was at my friend's house and I brought my laptop because college is important right now. I have to figure out everything that’s goin' on. So when I got the financial package from Grinnell, I texted my college counselor – and I was like ‘Can you please explain these numbers to me? I’m not about to evaluate all this. It’s too many numbers.’ He was like ‘Are you crazy? Dude, you got a full ride!’ And I’m like, ‘You serious?’ Then I called him, and he explained everything to me about the scholarships and the grants and all that. And I was just like, oh my gosh, so excited. He was like ‘Are you happy?’ and I’m like ‘Yea I’m happy!’ Because financial was my biggest concern. I knew I was gon’ take the rest of my life to pay off student debt. So I’m like ‘whew, that’s a big relief.’ I’m the first in my family to go to college college, like the big university. My mama was like – ‘Wait, where is Grinnell again? Like two hours away?’ And I’m like, ‘No no, Grinnell is in Iowa.’ And she was like ‘Iowa that’s up there?’ And I’m like ‘That’s the only Iowa I know.’ And then she was like “Well, we just gon’ move with you.” She not gonna move with me... I’ve always been interested in politics. I always wanted to run for office. It’s just a goal of mine, long term goal. I'm inspired by Michelle Obama. She's always stood up for people like me. Black, women of color, women period. And she always did great things. The whole presidency she always did great things and even after. And I just always felt like I wanted somebody to look up to me as I look up to her. Success for me would be if my senior year of college, a lot of people know me for – I win debates in class, I fight for what I believe in, I help everybody, I stand up for everybody. That’s what I’m known for. People look up to me, I’m well respected. Success is if people see me as the girl who never stopped, who always kept going and then still wasn’t satisfied.” #nolabeings #neworleans #classof2020 #congratulationsseniors https://www.instagram.com/p/CAVu-sPA-TZ/?igshid=lw1lmc8b3dff