Thread by @NatashaSAlford

I was 17 years old when I applied to Harvard. My guidance counselor pulled me aside the day a recruiter came to my city high school for an info session. She was a Black woman and my mind was blown. I didn’t even know Black people went there. It had just been a “reach” school up… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Now important to note: my high school was racially diverse but suffered from academic tracking. Most AP and honors classes had white or non-Black students in them, while most Black students were in “regular” classes.

One day my guidance counselor pulled me aside again (notice the theme here), and mentioned that two of my classmates were slated to meet with a local Harvard alum for individual lunches. One of them couldn’t make it last minute due to a scheduling conflict— would I want his slot?

Both of my classmates slated to meet with the Harvard alum happened to be white and male. I didn’t think anything of it. But I secretly did wish I’d been considered from the start. It was irrelevant though. I wanted to meet the alum and was grateful for the opportunity. “Of… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Turns out he lived at a nursing home and was in his 90s. I’d need to travel there, to a nearby suburb, for the lunch. I went and met him, and he greeted me with a little entourage of elderly friends.

He was a Jewish man, a doctor, who’d served in World War II. Had the most fascinating life ever. He and his friends chatted me up nonstop and I did my best to follow my counselor’s advice to “just be myself.” It must’ve been an interesting sight to see from the outside. This… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

After the lunch, he pulled me aside and told me with a smile that I’d do well at Harvard, and gave me a hug. Months later when I got in, I had no doubt in my mind that the lunch changed the entire trajectory of my life. When I called to tell him, nearly in tears, he told me he… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Before I left for school, the Dr. gave me all his school collectibles. When I came back home for breaks and holidays, I’d visit him at the nursing home. He died a couple years after I graduated college, but to this day, I am grateful to him for looking out for me. He didn’t have… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

For any young person who feels defeated by what has happened with Affirmative Action, who has dreams people tell you are too audacious, “unnecessary,” or foreign… dreams no one in your own family may have touched but you can’t shake… please don’t give up.

There were so many turning points in my own story, where if someone hadn’t intervened or advocated, I may have been left behind or overlooked. But caring people ensured I didn’t miss small windows of opportunity that are hidden— which is the reality of this whole “merit” debate.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Also, advocate for yourself. Because high-performing low-income students and students of color are *routinely* overlooked for gifted and talented programs. The access gap starts early. There are talent pipelines that create two tracks and two worlds of possibilities for students… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

And finally, just know there is a whole community of people who got a chance who are ready to pay it forward. You will make it. With or without any admission to a particular institution. As the saying goes, “the glory is within you.” 🖤✨