Cohort: 1
Where are you from?
Chicago’s West Side.
What is your favorite field of study/topic?
Sociology and philosophy.
What is something you would like people to know about you as a student?
As a student of life, I have a new profound love and respect for education and knowledge. When I enter the classroom setting, I submit my mind to the powers that be throughout these educational journeys. I understand and totally accept the moral obligations of being a student, and I look forward to paying for empowering information forward.
What does being a part of NPEP mean to you?
Being a part of NPEP means to me what old church hymns and Negro spirituals meant to African American people and our ancestors. For it is quenching my soul as I travel down a tedious journey living in a day and age under circumstances where I depend solely on tools of hope and my shield of faith that there will be light at the end of the dark tunnel — living life as a Black man.
What course has had the biggest impact on you and why?
Professor Mary Pattillo’s Sociology of Chicago/African American Studies class had the biggest impact on my life. Through her soul-penetrating “spells” — what we often refer to as her teachings — I now understand more about who I am as a young Black man growing up in such an ugly, segregated city with so much beautiful power within “Black Peacemaking.” I learned to never be ashamed of my skin color or the obstacles I endure because of it. She taught me pride.
What is your favorite book or article that you have read in your NPEP classes?
I really enjoyed reading all the different philosophical pieces of work Professor Jennifer Lackey sprung on us. Specifically the topics of famine, affluence, and morality where Peter Singer argued that our nation has a moral duty to aid in the sufferings of poor nations. These arguments hit home in my heart because I always dreamed of just being a man who could provide for and protect people who couldn’t do so for themselves.
What assignment (paper, project, homework) have you found the most rewarding?
I did a paper on “The Ontological Argument” for Professor Lackey’s philosophy course and I received a 92% (A) after she told me it was a courageous choice to choose that topic. She assured me that not many students have ever picked that topic. Nevertheless, I succeeded at nailing it (although it could’ve been a little more detailed).