1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I have always had the urge to travel and write. Looking back now, I’m not sure I necessarily wanted to be a writer, but I became one (partly as a product of my environment), and it remains a big part of who I am today. Throughout journalism school, I found myself volunteering as a tutor for the I Have a Dream Foundation, and that’s when working with youth first began to pull at my heartstrings. Not long after graduating, I veered off the journalism track and began teaching as a math intervention fellow at a high-needs school in Denver. From there, I made the leap to Vietnam, where I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) for a little over three years—teaching in an international school, at an after-school language center, and through a virtual platform. Last year, I was fortunate enough to spend a little time in South America, in order to carry out a small virtual exchange between students in La Paz, Bolivia and New York City. Now, I am back in the U.S., working to launch a nonprofit organization with my partner, while also getting to be a part of Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC (BTAL)!*

*Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC (BTAL) was previously called Black Teaching Exchange. This post has since been updated to reflect this change.

2. What made you interested in travel?

I think this pulse to travel and explore the world has always been within me. I can remember playing in my room when I was quite young, pretending to be a teacher somewhere in Europe, while trying to emulate the Spice Girls’ British accents.

3. What has been the most exciting and inspiring place you have visited?

Nepal and its people will always be incredibly special to me. It’s difficult to describe in words, but I found Nepal to be a very sacred place. While spending 30 days trekking through the remote reaches of the Everest region, I experienced a level of vast interconnectedness that I had never felt before.

4. What have you learned about being an American while traveling—positive and/or negative?

When I left the U.S. to move to Vietnam, I knew I wanted to slow down. At just 25 years-old, I could feel myself plowing ahead in life, building a mountain that I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to be on top of. And the longer I stayed outside of the U.S., the more I began to realize just how busy we seem to keep ourselves here, always trying to reach for something more—even if it means missing out on our actual lives. This is a deeply ingrained cultural habit that I am still working to unlearn and I imagine I will probably need to be mindful of for the rest of my life.

5. Why are you interested in the Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC and being a part of this movement?

When I came back to the U.S. in 2018, my perspective of the world and my place in it had transformed wildly. But beyond grappling with my own new personal reality, I was confronted with a stark American reality—a reality in which racism and xenophobia were quite literally tearing a society apart.

Like Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk, I believe that seeing and acting go together: “Once we see something that needs to be done, we must take action… Otherwise, what’s the use of seeing?”

Being a part of the Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC movement means taking action. We need understanding, trust, and love, in order to heal and grow. And I believe if we can work to deepen the understanding amongst Pan-African individuals, we, as people of the world, can take a step forward on our collective path towards healing and growth.

6. What are your thoughts about the Pan-African Movement?

In my eyes, the Pan-African Movement is a movement rooted in unity. And as my friend Sara recently said, I believe this is exactly what the world needs right now.

7. Is there anything else you want our audience to know about you?

Thank you for allowing me to share a bit of my story. I am honored to be a part of the BTAL community, and I truly can’t wait to see where this journey leads us next!

If you are interested in learning more about Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC’s (BTAL) workshops, please click here.