My parents instilled in me the power of education. It was transformational in their own lives, and they saw firsthand the possibilities that it could create for me. We moved to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo when I was 6. Immigrating to the United States
was not easy. I remember my first experience in an American classroom — I cried at my desk because I couldn’t speak English, and I didn’t know how to communicate how to do the simplest things like use the restroom. Though it was difficult, it propelled me to succeed, and education was the pathway to achieving my goals.
While a student at St. Cecilia Grade School, Principal Bonnie Pryor told me and my parents about the Black Student Catholic Scholarship Fund. As representatives from Omaha’s Catholic high schools came to our school to give recruitment presentations, I paid close attention and day by day, began to see the possibilities for high school and beyond. And once I saw Marian’s presentation, I fell in love.
From day one, Marian was a space where I could authentically be myself and figure out who I wanted to be. I wanted to become a leader, so I ran for student board as a freshman and was lucky to be elected all four years of high school. This allowed me to get to know my classmates as well as girls in the other classes at Marian. I felt like I was part of something greater. So many faculty and staff went out of their way to get to know me as an individual and challenged me not only in the subject they were teaching but also by pushing me to grow as a person.Along with my Marian teachers, another mentor was Tessie Edwards (pictured here), a pioneer in Catholic education in Omaha, who was instrumental in 
founding the Black Student Catholic Scholarship Fund. A respected teacher at Creighton Prep,
After graduating from Marian in 2005, I attended Creighton University, where I majored in Journalism Mass Communication (Advertising/Public Relations) and French. Marian prepared me for my college experience both academically and personally. I saw the impact of my Marian experience because I was confident to use my voice in and out of the classroom. During my first year, many of my professors would ask me, “Did you go to Marian?” They could tell the difference.
My professors at Creighton encouraged me to continue my education, so after graduating from Creighton in 2009, I received my master’s in Higher Education Administration from Miami University Ohio in 2011 and then joined the administration at Loyola University Chicago. There, I served in several roles and most recently, I taught and oversaw the school’s business career services team and adjunct instructors who teach career readiness courses to undergraduate business students.
In April 2024, I stepped away from that role and am discerning what the next chapter of my life will look like. Whether it’s in higher education or the corporate or non-profit sector, I know it will be a position where I work directly with people in their professional and career development.
I’m extremely thankful that the Black Student Catholic Scholarship Fund gave me the opportunity to go to a high school like Marian.
We live in a society that often tries to change or mold people into someone other than their authentic selves. My education at Marian taught
me that each of us has the ability to take ownership of our own narrative, and I feel I have truly lived my life through that mantra, whether it was at Marian, Creighton, in graduate school or beyond.
A gift to the Black Student Catholic Scholarship Fund is not only an investment in a young person’s life but it’s an investment in our community, in breaking generational patterns and creating generational wealth. It gives access, it creates resources and a path for so many. We are going to college. Providing that opportunity to a student really is a transformational investment. The possibilities are limitless.
