Beginning my junior year, I was offered a position as a student docent worker at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. There, I created and gave tours of the museum and helped students learn the importance of history. While I was worked at the ADAH, I began networking with others in the field, and it wasn't long after I was hired to work at the Freedom Rides Museum. Here, I was responsible for teaching visitors about the Freedom Riders of 1961 who helped to desegregate interstate traveling on Greyhound and Trailway buses. I went from rushing between restaurants to serve tables for late hours for little pay to only worrying about one stable job that allowed me to focus more on my studies and my future.
During my last year of AUM, a professor encouraged me to apply to graduate school, something I never knew existed. I decided to apply to three schools and, like my high school mentor said, "see what happens!" I was accepted and went to Claremont Graduate University in Southern California. However, my acceptance letter from the unversity got lost in the mail, and I only found out I was accepted six days before the first day of class! I talked to my boss at the Freedom Rides Museum who completely understood my decision, and a couple of days later, I packed up everything in my little car to drive across the country. It took me three and a half days, but I made it to campus just two hours before my first class started!
At Claremont Graduate University, I earned a dual Master's degree in history and applied women's studies. My research focused on how patriarchy was enhanced in the Black community during Reconstruction.
