I’m heavily motivated by simply telling a good story. Even if the story I tell is only to my mom over the phone, I walk through life looking for good stories to make my family and friends laugh. Storytelling is about challenging narratives. Out of the 100 HU students to go abroad, I was one of three who went to Africa. I wanted to help future students overcome their fears of the unknown, for a lot of students, Europe feels like the “safer” option. Yet it was in Senegal that I was offered a creative job within 3 weeks, in Senegal that I was embraced by my host family, in Senegal that I got to speak with Ibrahima Traoré and Amadou Mbow, the two break out stars from film Atlantique , directed by Mati Diop, the 1st Black woman to compete in the Cannes Film Festival with her feature film debut.

For me, storytelling is about feeling good and feeling seen. There’s been many moments in my life that I felt my own story was too different or too white. The reality was that I’d yet to see my stories represented authentically. I think it takes creativity to explore the dangerous options, it takes creativity to be different and pursue new experiences. Storytelling is what makes people feel seen, Black people aren’t a monolith; our experiences come in different forms and they deserve to be represented.

Collaborating with The Creative Process allows me to tell unique stories on a new platform and use a medium I haven’t had the chance to explore. I’m also hoping to meet new artists and creatives! Storytelling makes people feel good. In 2019 I interviewed a Vintage Brand called COWPRINT. I loved writing that piece, but what I loved more was how happy that brand felt to have their work celebrated. Simply put, I want to create and celebrate art for, by, and about Black people.

I wish I knew how to grow my own food. There’s been so much uncertainty in 2020, but the only way to survive uncertainty is to control what you can. While there is both corporate and individual responsibility to heal the earth and environment, corporations are capable of making monumental changes. Capitalism ensures that they don’t make those changes. Individuals are much better off educating themselves for a time when the environment is unhealable. As environmental disasters continue to grow I want to recommit myself to sustainable living solutions. I would love to interview Black farmers and spread information about growing food from home and building sustainable living communities.

It’s been interesting trying to stay creative these past few months. Before COVID hit I was studying abroad in Dakar, Senegal, gaining new stories and life experiences everyday. I had just been hired to be the Assistant Creative Director for a fashion show, only for my program to be cancelled in the span of 3 days and to find myself on a plane back to Pittsburgh, PA. The midwest. The total opposite of everything I’d just begun to experience on the great continent. In the weeks and months that followed March 2020, I’ve spent much of my time in isolation. I’ve started new shows, I’ve rediscovered old songs that I didn’t realize I still knew the words to, I’ve developed new recipes.

An ongoing project of mine is my work with m K Collective, an art collective and production company I started 2 years ago with a cohort of Howard University creatives. As a collective we do a combination of art workshops, photoshoots, articles, animation, and behind the scenes content. These days we focus primarily on community engagement via social media; we share tips for safely protesting, articles on defunding the police, and facetime photoshoots. I’m currently setting up an interview with a young baker in Pittsburgh. She’s a Black girl who’s turning her love of baking into a cupcake catering service. In addition to being interviewed for m K Collective, we’re collaborating to develop a brand identity for her company and create a photo campaign.

Long term I’m hoping to create video content for m K, complete a screenplay and TV pilot, and achieve a Fulbright grant to study pottery and ceramics in Accra, Ghana.