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fellow letter about us c/o 2018 impact finances features
By: Ja’Colby Freeman, Class of 2019
It all began with Mrs. Flowers informing my mother about BRYC after 8th grade. I had no clue what I was stepping into when I applied. My frst year was pure enlightenment; I began to realize just how important my decisions would become in high school. I came into the program with a stubborn mindset, a know-it-all attitude, all while remaining introverted. My frst weeks I discovered I would be learning a lot, and that I would have to open up and engage with the community BRYC fosters. I discovered it was a safe place, one that allowed me to get to know things I couldn’t understand about people who weren’t like me — and vice versa.
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What makes BRYC special is not its resources for students like me; it’s what they teach us to do with them. They teach us to self-advocate, by far my most important BRYC lesson. For me, that means putting myself out there, building relationships in and outside of the organization. It means being okay with not knowing and asking questions when I don’t. That’s been especially true during the college process, which has presented so many things I thought I understood but didn’t have a clue about. Self-advocacy means telling my story, being proud even of the most bitter parts of my past so I could welcome a better future. All of this has been scary, but that’s what BRYC does: pushes Fellows to embrace fear as opportunity. The result? I’ve been exposed to a more colorful world. I’ve also been inspired by BRYC’s altruism to share the knowledge and skills it has imparted to me with non-BRYC peers. After all, the need BRYC addresses extends far beyond its walls.
BRYC is well-known for ACT prep, college support, and programs about leadership. It’s so much more. In my weakest moments, there was a family for me at BRYC, a support system that uplifted and pushed me toward relentless growth. From academics, to service, to performing arts, BRYC was and still is there for all of it, helping turn my raw potential into endless possibilities. I look back on my four years with gratitude for the place I’ve maximized my wingspan. Now I’m ready to fy.
