As she weaves her way through the 209-acre campus, filled with red-brick buildings, iron fences and the 25 historic gates that rim Harvard Yard, Shakira Hall walks up two small sets of stairs.
With a sign to the left above her head that reads “Ask What You Can Do,” Hall enters through the double doors of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Through those doors lie a world of possibility and new opportunities.
“Harvard is out of the ordinary, it’s diverse and you never know what you are going to get, which is amazing,” says the 19-year-old, who earned a full-ride Bill Gates Scholarship to Harvard.
In this building, Hall - who grew up in the small Mississippi town of Bassfield - answers the question on the sign.
“I want to impact low-socioeconomic communities, like those where I am from that lack jobs, lack good education systems and solid infrastructure.
“The goal is to build wealth in some sector of my life to help people in these communities. I’m hoping God will reveal to me how to do that.”
- Family support: ’Those phone calls are everything’
Hall, a sophomore, hopes to obtain the skills needed to close the gap between low-income communities and quality education by pursuing a joint concentration in African American studies and sociology with a secondary emphasis in computer science.
“Growing up in Mississippi, I’ve always been interested in racial justice and learning how African Americans relate to the economy, our markets and government,” Hall says.
“And the world is technology based so having a focus in that will set me up well in the future. All of this has opened my eyes to so many possibilities.”
She called her freshman year “amazing, rocky but amazing.”
Nearly 22 hours away from her family and friends at home, the Mississippi native says she would not still be a full-time student at the oldest college in the country if weren’t for daily phone calls with her parents.
“I don’t know what I would do without them because they keep me sane,” Hall says. “Those phone calls are everything and I look forward to them every single day.”
Hall’s father graduated from high school and her mother from community college. Both, she says, value education.
Her dad, she adds, serves as a constant reminder to persevere: “You knew Harvard was hard but why did you expect anything less. God gave you this opportunity for a reason, one for you to get an education to give back to our community.”
“Talking to him helps me keep the faith and the desire to make them proud,” Hall says.
- It was a culture shock: ’Not losing sight of myself’
The phone calls with her parents and a strong faith, Hall says, have helped her adjust to the Harvard lifestyle.
’People here are starting companies, building apps and even discovering elements on the Periodic Table. It was a culture shock,” Hall says.
“Because I had a really thick Southern accent, my professors would often ask me to repeat what I was trying to say,” Hall adds.
“It made me feel like I was less intelligent because I did not use the words they used nor did I talk like the people around me. I felt like I had to code switch no matter where I went.”
While taking 16 hours per semester as a freshman, Hall was heavily involved on campus. She worked as a legislative intern for Massachusetts state Sen. Marjorie Decker, as a research partner with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, a journals liaison for former Tallahassee Florida Mayor Andrew Gillum and a member of the JFK Forum at the Institute of Politics.
Working with Gillum provided her with a focus on what she hopes to do in the future.
“Working with him really inspired me to find my niche and give back to communities like mine,” Hall says.
“I want to build a ladder and bring those people up with me, not leave them behind. I don’t want to lose sight of that mission.”
- Former Obama staffer a valuable mentor
Hall says she had to work to remain confident in her academic abilities and hone in on her mission. Through the IOP, she met 41-year-old Deesha Dyer, a resident fellow and former special assistant to the president and social secretary in the White House during the Obama Administration.
“She’s been one of the best things that has happened to me and listening to her story allows me to see how similar our lives are,” Hall says.
Dyer, who earned a community college degree at age 30, now has Hall working as her chief of staff in the IOP.
“Shakira is a hard worker and very determined,” Dyer says.
“Shakira has power and sometimes she needs to be reminded of it, especially as a young black woman,” she says. “Where she has come from and what she has been through, she will have her own story to tell.”
Dyer recently invited Hall to the Glamour of the Year Awards, where she met women like writer, producer, director and filmmaker Ava DuVernay and professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe on stage.
“It was a good experience to be surrounded by these powerful women,” Hall says.
“It served as a reminder to put God first, do the things I am passionate about and not lose sight of myself with everything around me.”
- An example for students in Bassfield, beyond
Lynn McDaniel-Hosman, a Hattiesburg native who recently retired from teaching in May, taught Hall English III in high school. She has no doubt Hall will continue to succeed at Harvard - and beyond.
“Shakira has always been resourceful and passionate about learning,” says Hosman.
While a Jefferson Davis County High School student, Hall never made less than an A and scored 32 out of 36 on her ACT test.
“She would go home and get on YouTube and dig and do more work to understand what was going on with the lesson we were learning,” Hosman says.
Harvard, adds Hosman, will not only benefit Hall but other students in her hometown.
“The kids in Bassfield need to see that they don’t have to stay and do small jobs in the county,” Hosman says.
Hall appreciates Hosman’s view.
“The goal is to change when you go to a new place but I want to be Shakira and develop the person I am becoming for the future of those behind me.”
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