Grateful for the gift of education

As the number of days before graduation become fewer and fewer, I am amazed I have actually made it this far. When I began my college career, I knew I was privileged to be attending Rhodes College; however, like other 18-year-old college freshmen, it would take me the next four years to truly understand what a blessing it was. I have learned so much about myself and others through my college experience. The liberal arts education I have experienced has taught me to be confident in my own epistemology and the values that inform it. I have learned to be a resourceful and independent thinker. I am more confident in myself and have allowed God to lead me to what I know is my true purpose for being.

It took me four years to figure out exactly why a girl from the projects was given access to a place like Rhodes. It truly amazes me that kids who go to schools like mine think we are something special, or that we deserve to be where we are by virtue of being better, smarter, hard workers. We all like to believe that we got ourselves here, and that we belong. That I did not deserve to attend Rhodes, and that it was not my actions alone that got me here — these are the only things I can know for sure after four years of a fancy liberal arts education. Ultimately, God put me here for a divine purpose, and I have the responsibility of passing along the gift of opportunity.

Getting to the point where I finally realize why I "made it" has taken a lot out of me, and I can honestly say that I owe a generous portion of my success to my mentors and my family, Anthony and Nikita. They were the reason I attended Rhodes to begin with. I remember being bribed with lunch at Texas de Brazil as a high-school senior to even get me to go visit. I was hell-bent on getting out of Memphis, and I did not care about what Rhodes had to offer. Somewhere between being dragged there kicking and screaming and being selected as a finalist for the Bonner Leaders Program, I realized that Rhodes was for me.

The moment of my epiphany was one of those rare times you hear old folks speak of when God actually speaks to you, undeniably. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of my college experience has been my relationship with my mentors. The tough conversations about character development and stewardship have led me to tears several times. I hated hearing my big brother say, "Courtney, you have to live like no one else, so you can live like no one else." They've known, even when I have been such a typical college student, that I have been placed in a unique position to impact the lives of kids like I could have been: The ones that society has given up on, and who rarely make it out of the cycle of poverty we are born into.

Now as a member of Mississippi Teacher Corps, a graduate program through Ole Miss that gives students like me the opportunity to impact students all over the state, I truly understand the meaning of that phrase I dreaded so much. Ironically, just as I never intended on attending Rhodes, I never intended to be a teacher. As a freshman, my big brother recommended the possibility to me. My exact words were, "I will NEVER be a teacher." Of course, what I thought I wanted never mattered, and God brought me full circle to find my passion for education in the end. Ultimately, I am going to Mississippi to give back what my big brother and sister gave to me.

Through them and my college experience, I am learning firsthand what it means to live like no one else. Now that I look back at the tough conversations I had with my big brother, I can appreciate them. Perhaps this is because now I will be sharing his words of wisdom with kids who need to hear them from me. As a high school English teacher, I am in for a very challenging next two years, but I feel so prepared after my experiences at Rhodes and with Anthony and Nikita. All that they sacrificed to ensure my success is now going to be poured back into my own kids at Noxubee County High School. Now more than ever, after my four years of college, I realize the reason I have come this far. God carefully places us in the best positions to do his good work, and my life to this point has been a testament to that fact.