It is important to remember that February is Black History Month. With February wrapping up, TalkNerdy2Me didn’t want the month to pass without taking note! In homage of Black History Month, we wanted to recognize some of NSCS’ widely notable African American alumni.
Sydney Taylor, a 2008 graduate from Spelman College, traveled to Madrid, Spain to teach English as a second language through the Fulbright International Educational Exchange Program. Taylor talks about her experience on facinghistroy.org, and how she endured racial profiling while in Spain. Many of the Spaniards couldn’t believe that she was an American. Because of her skin tone, they automatically assumed that she was Brazilian or of Dominican decent. And similar to Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070, Spanish law enforcement has been encouraged to question the residency of those who may look like illegal immigrants. Taylor was surprised to realize, “… how far we in the world have to go to really achieve true understanding of different culture and ethnicities.”
Nicole Baden, a 2011 graduate from Howard University was awarded the 2011 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship. The fellowship provides Baden with close to $90,000 in benefits over a two-year period to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs. This summer the U.S. Department of State will send Baden overseas to a U.S. Embassy where she will gain hands-on experience with U.S. foreign policy and the work for the Foreign Service. Baden has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her college career while majoring in audio production and minoring in Spanish. Read more about Baden at howard.edu.
Ashley Williams is a junior, Broadcast Journalism major and Digital Design minor at Howard University. She is a member of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Social Action chair for the NSCS chapter at Howard University. She is a chic geek at heart as she truly enjoys shopping for great deals and putting different styles together. She enjoys sharing her deals, beauty and fashion secrets to whoever is willing to listen. She is a contributing writer for TalkNerdy2Me and Hercampus.com.