I am a student at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in African American Studies and Psychology. I am a first-generation college student, transfer student, and reentry scholar whose path to higher education was shaped by my experience within California’s prison system. Coming to Berkeley is not just an academic pursuit for me; it is part of a larger commitment to understanding and transforming the systems that have historically excluded people like myself.
My work at Berkeley centers on the intersections of education, mental health, and justice. I am currently developing a healing-centered, community-based mental health curriculum designed to support system-impacted students as they transition into higher education. Grounded in participatory action research and trauma-informed practices, my research emphasizes peer-led support, identity affirmation, and collective care as essential components of student belonging, persistence, and well-being.
My research interests are deeply rooted in lived experience. Navigating higher education after incarceration revealed how often access is prioritized over support, leaving many students to manage trauma, isolation, and institutional barriers on their own. I am at Berkeley to challenge that gap, to study how educational spaces can move beyond survival toward healing and sustainability for marginalized communities. Through the Miller Scholars Program, I aim to further develop this work into a model that centers dignity, accountability, and community, helping ensure that students who are given another chance are also given the resources to thrive.
