He Was From A Poor Background, A Two Time Drop Out, The Odds For His Success Was Slim, Yesterday, He Was Conferred With A Master’s Degree At The University Of Waterloo, He’s Set To Pursue His PhD

A young man named Darren McAlmont, has gone down memory lane as he was recently conferred with a master’s degree. Darren remembers his tough days as he outline all his achievements.

Read his post below as shared on LinkedIn:

— I am Black.
— I am an “immigrant.”
— I am from a poor socioeconomic background.
— I was a two-time high school drop-out (directly because of my family’s socioeconomic status, and because there was no solid familial precedent).

The odds for my success were slim because of those aforesaid parts of my identity. But I have a testimony…

—️ I have learned to use my racial identity intentionally to disrupt white supremacy.

️— I am a budding rhetoric and Black masculinity scholar, who studies the intersectionality and complexities of Black men’s visibility and invisibility. I research and write about the rhetoric surrounding Black men in North American news media and its negative impact on our lived experiences.

️— Yesterday, I was conferred a master’s degree in Rhetoric and Communication Design from the University of Waterloo, with $0 student debt.
️— I earned and hold a seat at Canada’s highest ranked and one of the world’s top 20 most prestigious universities—the University of Toronto—to pursue a PhD in Social Justice Education.

None of this was by luck. I work(ed) hard. It started with me going back to school and getting my high school diploma as a young adult, and I haven’t stopped since.

I didn’t allow my humble beginnings to determine who I would become or where I would end up.

Now, I work intentionally to achieve the things so many Black youth and men didn’t get the chance to because of systemic racism.

I owe the biggest debt of gratitude to God for keeping me grounded during the most laborious and intellectually demanding year of my life.

To my academic mentors and supporters, Dr. Andrea McKenzie and Dr. Rich Shivener, I couldn’t have reached this far without your support – thank you.

Source: Darren McAlmont | LinkedIn

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com