Good
evening. My name is Junea Williams, and I am a senior,
majoring in History with a minor in Education. I
am honored to have the opportunity to share my feelings
about Barnard with you tonight. As I thought about
what to say, I found it difficult to create a brief
account of my experiences at Barnard, in large part
because there is so much I can convey about why
I chose Barnard and why I love what it has done
for me. Nonetheless, here is my attempt to be concise.
When
I first visited Barnard as a high school student,
I was greatly impressed as I discovered how many
students were genuinely happy at Barnard. Once I
began my studies at Barnard, I soon learned that
this happiness was rooted in the benefits that the
school has to offer. Barnard helps to foster a sense
of individuality, giving each woman the freedom,
outlets, and support to be who she chooses to be.
As previously mentioned, I have found my niche through
involvement in a variety of activities, each of
which involves a level of giving back to and strengthening
the Barnard community. As a leader in the Black
Sisters of Barnard and Columbia (BSBC), I am able
to celebrate two facets of my background, not only
with people of similar experiences, but with others
as well. Furthermore, as coordinator for the 1999
New Student Orientation Program, I continued to
learn important lessons as I supervised a committee
of my peers, and through my interactions with administrators
and incoming students.
Beyond
providing opportunities to participate in those
extra-curricular activities, Barnard has also afforded
me the chance to serve as a student teacher in high
schools in the Bronx and Harlem at John F. Kennedy
High School and Frederick Douglass Academy, respectively.
At both sites, I served as a teacher and mentor
to seventh and ninth grade students, with invaluable
guidance and instruction from the faculty of Barnard's
Education Program, which is, in my opinion, one
of the best programs of its kind. As an outgrowth
of my interest in education, my senior thesis analyzes
two teacher union strikes that occurred in my hometown
of Newark, NJ and the significance of the Newark
community's opposition to those strikes. Although
it has been extremely challenging, completing my
thesis has been one of the most rewarding tasks
I have fulfilled thus far.
As
graduation rapidly approaches, I realize just how
much my encounters at Barnard have all been instrumental
in my development. As I begin a new journey next
year in law school, I will always utilize the lessons
that I have learned at Barnard: lessons that largely
revolve around recognizing, appreciating, and fulfilling
those goals and aspirations that drive me as an
individual. These goals include combining my commitment
to urban education reform with my interest in law
to work in the realm of education advocacy and policy
upon completion of law school. In closing, I would
like to sincerely thank you for your support of
Barnard-support that will help another young woman
like myself continue to realize and live up to her
fullest potential. Thank you.
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