Young Black & Gifted

Trying Something New I am trying several of the new tip and techniques I learned from the Zerubavel's book.  We were asked to write a power paragraph.  So for my power paragraph, I formatted it in an attempt to write an abstract!  Lets see how I did. For decades, student activism has been a major part of college campuses. Students have used their voices to draw attention to many social and political issues happening in their community and nationwide. Student activism is one of the leading influences for student engagement. As students become integrated into their college communities by interacting in challenging social situations with others, they begin to question and challenging the social norms of the university. However, students who identify as first-generation and/or marginalized enter into the college environment at a disadvantage and often do not engage in social activities. Participation in student activism activities can affect the engagement levels and ...

Dear Future Self, I read a book today by Eviatar Zerubavel called, The Clockwork Muse: A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dissertations, and Books that will be helpful as you begin to write your dissertation or begin a career in writing. In the book, Zerubavel discussed developing writing habits what will help you complete your writing. He suggested several things to consider while developing writing habits for a large project like a dissertation.  He explains that it is best to be disciplined with your writing schedule, honest with yourself about your best writing time and what you require to write and structured so that your writing sessions are productive. Which means you need to plan effectively, organize your time and writing, and work towards deadlines.    While reading this book, I began to reflect on my own writing habits or lack thereof. I realized there is so much I don’t know about my writing habits that I need to begin to observe as I prepa...

My H abitus and  Critical Social Theory As an administrator at a small predominately white private institution who identities as an African American woman, my position within the university and education level have placed me amongst the middle class. As a result, there is perceived privilege that comes with this class position. However, I am not blind to that privilege and can identify when that perspective appears in my thoughts and writing. In addition, as a college student and as a professional, I identify as a first-generation student, who’s racial identity automatically identifies me as a marginalized student and a product of two working class parents.  I had to overcome many barriers and obstacles throughout my educational and professional journey. Today, I often find myself relating to the many students for which I work daily who are struggling to overcome barriers and persist towards another year of obtaining their degree. As I entered into an advance...

Welcome to my Blog! Let's see how this blog thing works! For a class assignment we were asked to create a blog... so here it is. Welcome to Young Black and Gifted!  Where this young, black and gifted girl will share her thoughts on all of the "fun" she is having reading in her phd program.  So sit back and enjoy all of the not so scholarly thoughts I may have! This is a safe space to be yourself!