Mother From Another by Mia

Mother From Another by Mia - January 2025 Scholarship Essay

I was entering high school after having completed an intensive 2.5 year program for black and brown students in New York that was to help prepare and expose us to private schools in the city and give us a better chance at attending university. As accomplished as I felt upon finishing this program and getting into the high schools I tirelessly studied for and applied to, I was still extremely nervous.It got to the point where I began almost internally regretting putting myself in an environment that was so foreign to me.

Not long into my first day of high school I met a woman named Dr. Gittens, who although I never had as a teacher , became one of the most important figures in my time in high school and beyond. She checked in on me quite frequently and coincidentally I became very close friends with her son prior to us meeting, which made it very easy to talk to her quite quickly. She served as a comforting but also strong and confident presence for many of the young black girls at school when it came to navigating our social lives, advocating for ourselves, and finding ways for us to celebrate or various cultures in clubs, classes, and activities. She was a language teacher, but her ability to connect with a wide variety of people often transcended the bounds of language as she used her voice to create space for many people that were overlooked or misunderstood within the institution at the time. She inspired me to listen and lead with my heart; not just in relation to my own desires but in regards to what I truly believed was right and just. Her compassion for those different than her and the efforts she went to amplify newer voices helped me with my own advocay and understanding of foreign institutions.

She became my African Dance instructor and Step Team supervisor as well, and when it came time for me to adopt leadership roles in those respective groups she taught me the importance of being assertive, and trusting myself when it came to my creative endeavors. I often struggled to see my visions through on my own at the time due to self doubt or feeling like I wasn't ready but she emphasized the importance of doing things scared and putting myself out in the world even if judgement followed. To this day I joke with her son that she’s “our” mother just because of the integral role she played in making my highschool days worthwhile and helping me grow as a young woman.