Meet Dee.
Dee grew up a curious child, whereas some in her family didn’t have the curiosity to become more aware of what was outside of their community. Dee said, “The curiosity from my childhood helped me in my adult life, because it made me think about things. If there is something that is bothering me, and I don’t want to accept it, my curiosity kicks in and I try to find ways to resolve it.” This mindset has led her to become the first person in her family to graduate college. While most people in her community were having children around age 16, she was studying and making plans for her life. When asked about her driving factor to be successful, she stated that it was expected in her community to finish high school and work in a factory or restaurant, but she had a desire to do more with her life. Her biggest motivator was to succeed for her family and break generational curses. She said, “Being a black woman in America, you have to have the credentials to get even entry level opportunities. I knew that if I wanted this life I kept envisioning, and I kept dreaming of, I had to put the work behind it. I couldn’t be another person just sitting at home hoping and wishing. I had to make a plan and take steps to get there. Getting my degree was the first thing to get there.”
Although her family supported her, not everyone in her community offered the support she was hoping for. She said, “The thing with the black community is that, they are always happy for you but they don’t know how to express that or they don’t understand. There is like a hustler mindset in the community, so it’s like, ‘you don’t need that paper to get out here and make money,’ but for me it was just that, you need that paper to make legitimate money. I am a hustler, but a legitimate hustler.” Dee received comments from friends and loved ones like, “you must think you’re better than me.” This hurt Dee, but also fueled her to keep striving. She said, “Your life is your choice, it’s all about building a plan, executing, and keeping that motivation for why you started. You always have to remember the why. That is really what helped me get through that. The more I care what others think the more it will hold me back. I just have to pray for their understanding, and pray for my own understanding. When you are doing something that people aren’t used to, there is always going to be doubt, always going to be questions, always going to be hate… but it’s your choice to let it consume you or not. I’m choosing to not let it consume me.” Dee was the first to graduate college in her family, an accomplished small business owner, an Employee Engagement Coordinator at a local staffing agency providing hope and opportunity for others to succeed, and one day has a dream to have 6 individual streams of income.