A More Unified Community

The traditional classroom is only one facet of a student’s education in college — university life is about the combination of academic and social development. The key to taking advantage of your own college experience is finding a social organization that you can leave a unique impact on because you relate to it and want to leave your legacy — ethnically, socially, religiously, or politically.

I have spent the better part of my college career working to help support our African American community via my student organization, African American Male Coalition. Supported by the Center for Student Diversity and working with the other student organizations with like-minded goals, we have had the chance to grow not only as a group with events and revenues, but also as a community of people who can work, live, and relax together. Our mission has been “creating a stronger and more unified environment for the African American males on campus,” and I can think of a number of ways in which we continue to strive in that direction. My own input has been in a leadership role designing new events and running our organization, but the real growth has not been strictly in AAMC’s growth. I have grown so much over the years having taken on a struggle that I identify as mine, and recognizing men as brothers experiencing the same daily trials and barriers that I do.

The key to this world is recognizing that you are not alone, and that while the path we travel is long and hard, life is really about the people around you and how you can help make someone else’s road a little easier. Our university hosts a variety of service opportunities and organizations that you can join to make a difference in this world. The key is finding those places where you can have the biggest impact on the lives of others.

-Dominic Burkett ’16