Interview is edited for length and clarity.
Why did you choose to study at Simmons?
“Simmons had a program where you, as a high school senior, could stay overnight, so that's what I did.
The minute I stepped foot on the Simmons campus, I loved this school. I was at a recruitment weekend for students of color. When I saw the sheer number of high school students of color, particularly Black students, I wondered, ‘What do they know that I don’t know?’ That evening, we went to a Black Student Organization [BSO] meeting.
At that time, BSO had a lounge, an office, and an outer lounge in the basement of Evans Hall. We went down a little stairway into the outer lounge, and that's as far as we could go because the meeting was packed. It was a great BSO meeting. I remember thinking that this was where I needed to be. It just helped me to feel like I belonged. There was already going to be a community for me to enter into. And that was it.
When I got into the classroom, I remember feeling like, ‘Oh, this is different.’ Like, I'm not fighting for a voice. I didn't have someone making me feel smaller, making me explain what I already knew. It just felt relaxing. I didn't feel like I had to be in competition mode or have some sort of appearance. I could go to class and just learn. That's what I appreciated.”
Why did you study sociology and Africana Studies?
“I began at Simmons thinking I wanted to work in human services. I had taken some human services classes and some psychology classes. They were OK, but I wasn't loving it. One of my big sisters from BSO said, ‘How about you take a sociology class’? I took a sociology class, taught by Professor Steve London. I loved everything about it and didn’t look back.
Later I received a message from Dr. Elizabeth Amelia Hadley, the chair of the then-African American Studies Department. Dr. Hadley asked why I didn't declare my major. I told her I was a sociology major. She responded, ‘You're one class away from an African American Studies major ... Wasn't it intentional?’ I said, ‘No, I took all the electives for sociology that sounded interesting.’ I declared African American Studies as my second major.
Simmons was the first school I had a Black teacher, except for in kindergarten when I had Mrs. Brown, who was the teacher's assistant. That was another thing that was revolutionary. Simmons is where I had faculty who looked like me, teaching me.
In sociology, Professor London really shifted my thinking. It was so clear that he loved teaching and he cared so much about the community, particularly supporting urban youth. And he really sparked something in me. I remained close to him. I took every class that I could with him. When it was time for me to apply for both my master’s and my PhD, he wrote me letters of recommendation and supported my graduate pursuits. He helped me sort out the first role that I had working at the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, and he was just great when I eventually came back to work at Simmons.
One of the things that was instilled in us as students beginning my freshman year was this notion of finding your voice. And that was a throughline for my whole four years. At Simmons, I had a voice. I was pretty active in high school and was a student leader, but I think Simmons helped me to clarify my voice and helped me clarify the role that I could have in my communities or with people that matter the most to me.”
What advice would you give to Ifill students?
“Use this time to get all the different experiences that you can. Connect with the people who work at Simmons because they're there to support you. Josie [Josephine] Shaddock was one of those individuals who supported me as a student and again when I returned to Simmons professionally. As a student, you just never know what network you'll tap into by just leaning into the folks who are there.
That's how I got my very first professional job. I was a student leader. I said ‘yes’ to everything.
Well, my senior year, I was walking through the MCB after a late class. Diane Hammer, who worked in community engagement, said, ‘Hey, Michelle, you’re a student leader. You want to go to a fancy dinner tomorrow?’ And I responded, ‘Sure.’
I learned that I was attending the New England Women's Leadership Awards, and Simmons purchased a table because one of its trustees was receiving an award. At the table, I was the only student there. The president at the time, Dan Cheever, Professor Ellen Borges, and other Simmons individuals were there.
This video comes on, and it's these folks talking about the experience working at a Boys and Girls Club. I was so fascinated by the video, what the staff had to say, and all the imagery of the Boys and Girls Club and their events. When the video was over, I turned to Professor Borges and said, ‘I want to work there.’ She turned to President Cheever and said, ‘Michelle wants to work there.’ He leans over and says, ‘Michelle, give me your resume in the morning. Drop it off with my secretary.’
That night I got back to North Hall, I created a resume, and then I went to the president's office and dropped it off at eight in the morning. Later that day, I had an email inviting me to interview at what was then called the Colonel Daniel Marr Boys and Girls Club in Dorchester. I ended up working there for three years as an education director. To this day, that is still my favorite job. That opportunity was because I was active. I leaned in. I showed up in different ways at Simmons, not only as a student leader, but through all the things they had available for me to do. It shifted the trajectory of my career and where I am today.”