The strength of the Pride is the Lion.

This past Friday (Frolics), our campus received a visit from some KIPP family.  I attended Kipp Pride High, which was the first high school in the entire kipp nation to be founded. Our school started and campus started as a set of trailers on an old peanut field. From that an entire campus with grades K-12 was created. During my 6th grade year at KIPP, two teachers left to start another school because this is how the KIPP foundation grows. The school they built was named Henderson Collegiate and in the 8th grade my pride and I visited their school to do community service. Their school was based in trailers like ours at the time but now they have expanded just like Kipp Pride did into a K-12 campus.

When they came Friday, I wasn’t yet aware of their expansion. I saw the high school students and began to wonder if there was a different Henderson Collegiate. Somehow I came into contact with principal and he confirmed all of my theories. I was really excited to have KIPP family on my college campus, because while Davidson spent a lot of time at KPHS we had never gone there on a college trip. We talked for a moment and he went through all the teachers at his school asking if I was ever their student. He also told me that since this was their first year having 12th graders, so they hadn’t yet had the opportunity to have their own alumni lead college tours. This meant they usually tried to get in contact with other alumni from KPHS. I am the first person from my branch of KIPP to earn acceptance into Davidson and this is my first year here, so they came thinking they would have to do without an alumni Q&A session.

Throughout middle and high school, our college visits always incorporated a KIPP alumni. I had been watching other alums doing it so long that when it was my turn it hardly felt real. So at a little after one o’clock on Friday afternoon, I did a Q&A session with Henderson Collegiate’s pride of 2019.  Outside of being a KIPP alumni, their pride number made it even more real for me. They were are in the same grade as my brother, which naturally provoked me to tell them the things I would tell him.

1. We come from a small and poor area so it’s natural for people to doubt us, but don’t pay that any mind. Focus on what you want and one day you’ll look back and wonder why you let chatter bother you.
2. Always be nice. Being nice can open a lot of doors for you. This is especially true in scenarios were it would be very easy to be mean.
3. You will come across people who will try to undermine your success by saying it is only because of your skin color. Whether or not this is true doesn’t matter because how you get there isn’t nearly as important as the fact that you did.

And last but not least:

4.Whenever you feel discouraged keep working hard because sometimes it really takes a bad situation to get you to where you want to be.

Talking to them really gave me the opportunity to reflect on how far I have come. A year ago I was attending school in the third poorest city in the nation and today I am attending school at a very prestigious institution. It was really important to me that those students understood how important it is for them to continue believing in their struggle. There is a quote that every Kippster and KIPP family member is brought up on, which can usually be seen on the back of the shirts of students.

Speaking to Henderson Collegiate, allowed me to be the strength for the pride that had done so much to help me achieve my goals.

In 8th grade of my pridemates gave a speech and said ” Ask not what the Pride can do for you, but what you can do for the Pride.” James’ speech was very special to everyone in my pride because he was the first of us to “make it out of the 252.” The goal for all of us has always been to leave and be successful because we know that Roanoke Rapids has nothing to offer us.

This quote really stuck with me because throughout high school my Pride did so much for me. They pushed me to do my best in the class and on the track, which was all very important to my acceptance to Davidson College. During my time with the pride of 2019 I was able to give back. Giving back is important because if we all only focus on leaving Roanoke Rapids and the surrounding areas it will never get better. So, talking to 2019 allowed me to have the opportunity to begin helping the pride that continues to support me.

P.S. A pride is a group of lions but it is also how KIPP names each incoming class. I was the Pride of 2016.

Work Cited:

• Rmay197, and James Taylor. “KIPP GCP Pride of 2016 Parent Pride Night 2011.” YouTube. YouTube, 16 Dec. 2011. Web. 04 May 2017.
• everyone who has ever said “I have love for the 252 but can’t stay in the 252.”