I graduated in May 2011 as a concentrator in WGS with a secondary in History of Art and Architecture. As a person with multifaceted interests in education, graphic design, and entrepreneurship, I benefitted immensely from the bountiful variety of classes WGS had to offer. Classes were smaller and more personal; this allowed me to forge relationships with my classmates and professors that were strong and meaningful.

As I neared graduation, I asked myself, “What do I want to do with my life? How can I use my degree in WGS and apply it to the real world?” WGS taught me that true social change only comes from education; from children, we are imprinted with the knowledge of our forefathers and inundated with messages and signals from society around us. With this in mind, I signed up for Teach for America and moved to Arizona, intending to see (and hopefully impact) the minds of young students in Phoenix. During my time in WGS, I learned how to vocalize my firm beliefs in educational equity. I saw, through Teach for America, the disparaging effects of the nation’s achievement gap. I discovered the need for real change, not in my students, but in the education system itself.

Impassioned in the pursuit of transformational change, I moved back to New York City in June 2013 to continue the fight for educational equity. Within the past year, I founded and am now the CEO of a new education-technology startup, ScholarMecca.com, which provides academic coaching and mentoring services to economically disadvantaged students K-12 by partnering with schools.

As I look back on my journey over the past 6 years, I know that none of this would have been possible without the formative studies of WGS.