Kaneisha's Weblog

In order to understand where I plan to go, why I want to go there, and how I plan to do it all, it would probably be useful to know a little about me and where I come from. It's kind of a romantic little story, and I'll tell it with the aid of my good friend the hyperlink.

So it all began with my wonderful parents, who grew up as farmworkers in small towns two hours apart in Florida. Upon graduating from their respective high schools, John and Debra moved to Austin, Texas to attend a small private Catholic university that waved an appealing financial aid package in front of them to lure them into the institution (which at the time was was being saved from bankruptcy by the government funds alotted to run this specific scholarship program for migrant farmworkers). It was there that they met, tried new things like frito pie and chorizo, subsequently got married, and then had me.

My family lives in the same cute house that we've lived in since I was two years old. Austin, Texas is a quirky mid-size city known for its live music, vibrant arts scene, and celebration of "diversity." However, it also suffers from housing segregation, horrible traffic, and police misconduct and brutality.

Dove Springs, the particular neighborhood in which I grew up, is mainly made up of working-class Black and Latino folk. Teen pregnancy, youth imprisonment, and school dropout (or rather push out) rates are high. I went to highly racially-segregated middle and high schools, and was one of very few Black students in the Magnet programs there.

I ended up at Pomona College, because I was entranced with rankings, and knew that I couldn't part with warm weather, Mexican food, or the urban environment. And yes, I now live in Claremont, a tiny town where we don't even have fast food, but we are close enough to LA, and I make a point to enjoy its wonderfulness as much as I can. I'm a Black Studies major, and involved in social activism, peer education, and social programming on campus. It's been a rocky three years here so far, but I've grown to love being a Sagehen, and I'm very proud of my school.

I never imagined myself applying to business school. I feared that showing any interest in economics, development, commerce, entrepreneurship, etc. would mean that I would spontaneously metamorphose into a self-hating, exploitative capitalist. Thank God that mentors and professors helped me understand that an MBA is an outstanding way to be an agent of social change through creative leadership and management.

So I tend to really jump into things once I've decided I want to do them, and once I determined I wanted to go to Business school, I immediately began looking up rankings, reading articles about Black MBA students and drafting my list of schools. My B-school mentor, Bryon, a fabulously intelligent, enterprising, and socially conscious young man, advised me to apply to a more manageable number of schools--rather than the six I was thinking about. I am in my senior year of college after all, and each B-school app takes at least 50-60 hours to complete.

So my list is as follows: Stanford, Harvard, Oxford.

Criteria I used to choose my schools:

1) welcoming of undergraduate students applying directly to B-school

2) strong or emergent departments and course offerings in Social Entrepreneurship, non-profit management, and business ethics

3) excellent funding opportunities

4) location

5) would allow me to defer matriculation for at least a year

So what's this business about applying now and deferring later?

Well, I was recently awarded the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to live and study in Accra, Ghana for a year. So after I graduate, I'll be heading to the University of Ghana to earn a Masters Degree in African Studies and work as the fashion designer/product designer for the NGO Street Girls Aid (more about them later). I am confident that my year in Ghana is going to be out-of-this-world amazing and that it will forever imprint my life. I plan on renting a house, learning how to speak Twi, and learning to sew and do batik. Hopefully, my Ghanian friends can teach me how to dance while they're at it too...

However, one way that going to Ghana is affecting my life in the immediate present is that I can only apply to schools that will allow me to defer admission. I'm applying now, because Harvard and Stanford allow undergrads to apply for free (thank you!) AND Harvard will counsel denied undergraduate applicants on improving their application for next time. Also, internet access is available but not all that consistent in Ghana--especially during the rainy season. So the time to apply is now, and my impending year abroad actually gives me great peace of mind throughout this entire process.

If I don't get into my schools this time around, I can always apply again after my year in Ghana--when I will be an even stronger (and older) applicant--with a Masters, year of work experience, and international living experience under my belt. However, I would much rather have my post-Ghana plans squared away before leaving the country, because I'm already getting to enjoy the beauty of knowing your future plans, being a senior with my entire year already beautifully laid out for me.

I think I've tortured/entertained/informed you enough for now. You'll hear from me soon: more about my plans for Ghana, the summer internship in Philanthropy in NYC I'm applying for, my Fall Break trip to NYC and Boston, and my exciting foray into social entrepreneurship.