AFRICA | An 18-year-old from Bowie, Maryland, SeKai Parker, has achieved an extraordinary feat by earning $3 million in scholarships and gaining acceptance to 15 prestigious universities, including Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).
In 2021, SeKai and her mother, Shaunte Parker, documented her college application journey on social media, sharing her excitement as she was offered a full-ride scholarship for four years.
Initially, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were not part of SeKai’s college considerations. Having spent her educational journey in predominantly white spaces, she had been conditioned to view HBCUs as less prestigious.
“Coming from a background of learning only in predominantly white spaces since pre-school, my environment had conditioned me to think that HBCUs are lesser than, or places where kids from my background don’t go,” SeKai said.
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“I spent my entire high school career with the thought of attending an Ivy League school as my motivation to work hard and get out of the space that I was in,” she added.
Her perspective began to shift during the Black Lives Matter uprisings in 2020. Reflecting on her identity as a Black woman, she started to see the value of attending an HBCU.
Also on the last day of her senior year, a crucial moment confirmed her choice. After classmates performed Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone,” SeKai realized she felt out of place.
“In my head, my imagination ran wild. I heard frats barking and whistling; I saw sororities strolling; I heard songs I actually enjoyed; and I felt like, ‘This is where I am supposed to be,” she said.
SeKai also expressed how her high school experiences failed to fully nurture her identity as a Black woman.
“I do believe my high school nurtured my identity as a woman and empowered me to use my voice. But] I also believe that this space did not nurture my identity as a Black woman in the same way,” she said.
Though SeKai was torn between Yale and Spelman College, she ultimately chose Spelman, following in her mother’s footsteps. Spelman will provide her with an experience fundamentally different from the predominantly white spaces she grew up in.
Currently, SeKai is studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences at Spelman College in the United States.
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