Theresa Watson has a passion for helping young people get to college - and that passion doesn't stop in the classroom. When she noticed that the youth she mentored often showed up hungry, she began to prepare extra food for them. "I just take pans of food over there so the kids can eat...if they got hungry they had no shame in calling me." For several years, Ms. Watson has also escorted local Black teens to different HBCU open house days, to keep them confident and motivated for college. "These things are really important," she says, to see Black professors and Black students thriving.
Ms. Watson describes how she mentors Black youth:
Ms. Watson on the importance of HBCUs:
Interviews conducted by Danita Mason-Hogans at Chapel Hill Public Library, 2019