Celebrating Black Culture

Growing up, Olivia was always involved in her community through various activities. She grew up in the Lincoln Square neighborhood in Chicago and then moved to Galewood. Olivia always valued education because her parents pursued higher education, and her mom taught her how to read. 

In high school, Olivia was involved in clubs such as; the track and cross country team, captain of the robotics team for one year, chess club, and the president of the garden club. Even now, while attending Trinity College in Connecticut, she’s still heavily involved in her community. She is now the hospitality coordinator for chapel, on the rock climbing team, and in her first semester, she was involved in ballroom dancing. 

When deciding the college she would like to attend, there were two major factors; financial aid and school size. Olivia mentions that she attended Trinity College due to the amount of scholarships she received and the size of the school because it would help her develop relationships and have a sense of community. “I received a substantial scholarship which is a big reason for why I came. I liked that it was a small campus because I’m pretty organized and on time, but I think it’s nicer to have a world that is smaller than massive to coordinate your day. Or to ride a bus for 20 minutes to get to class. I would rather not deal with that because college is hard enough as it is. I like having a good sense of community and being able to recognize faces. If I go to the dining hall, we only have one dining hall, so I know I can at least find someone there,” said Obikili. 

In the beginning, Olivia was pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. However, she is now exploring public policy and education because she is motivated to make a difference within the education system. “I am exploring other things. I’m thinking about public policy and education. My mom is a teacher and my cousin is a teacher. So I have to explore that side of myself, and I feel like I can facilitate more change in that way. One thing I know for sure is that AI is not going to go well for teachers because we tried to see what that looks like. During COVID, we tried to go online and that didn’t go well for most students. I like the security of knowing I’ll have my job, knowing I’ll have my Summers off. And that just seems fun to me. I love public policy because Chicago Public Schools have a lot of politics involved. I feel like I can help facilitate change to help with the equities and inequities of our schools and help them in that way,” said Obikili. 

While Olivia is navigating this transition and potential career change, she is grateful for the spiritual support she has from Pursue Scholars. “I appreciate the fact that there is religion involved at [Pursue Scholars] that helps ground someone. My first semester of college I didn’t incorporate myself with religion as much, which were some downsides to that for me. This is why I got a job at the chapel as a hospitality coordinator because I could tell I was craving that religion and that grounding. So it’s nice to have a community to fall back on those values as well,” said Obikili. 

Now, during Black History Month Olivia is honoring the ones who paved the way for her. “Black History Month means to me valuing the wonderful excellence that we embody as Black people. [We must] acknowledge the people in the present who are showing Black excellence, as well those in the past who paved the way for us. That’s always exciting to know you are a part of that. It wasn’t an easy path to go on, so seeing Black excellence happen out in my daily life is wonderful and I will not forget the people who trail-blazed black excellence in different professions,” said Obikili. 

To reflect on the ones who paved the way, Olivia mentioned ways she celebrated Black culture in the past. “I always did a project in school, I was heavily taught Black History Month, which was one of our biggest celebrations. It would start mid-late January and wouldn’t end until the first week of March. I will always read books on different trailblazers, and have to write essays about different people. That was a big part of Black History Month, and it was educational because I was able to write about whoever I wanted. At the time, I was thinking about pursuing engineering, so I was like let me find a Black engineer who’s a trailblazer in this field. I could give you random people I studied, and tell you about their life. On February 16th, our chapel is going to have a Kahoot for Black history religious leaders. I am also serving dinner, we are going to serve a Louisiana-New Orleans style dinner,” said Obikili. 

One of Olivia’s favorite things about Black culture is the dance moves. “My favorite thing about Black culture is our dance moves. Anything from swing, the Charleston, and all groups of people in the United States were a part of that, but I think Black people are wonderful dancers. Our music, our art, and our dance are fabulous. I remember in high school, people would dress in African garb for Black History Month, and my dad is Nigerian so I had a good amount of clothes, so after Valentine’s Day I would be decked out in African garb,” said Obikili. 

Due to the inspiration of the rich history of Black People, Olivia is inspired to go into education to be an inspiration for other young Black students. “I was only ever taught by two Black teachers in my 12 years in education, and if I could be a monumental Black teacher that would be wonderful. I like to give back to my community, by being a landlord of net zero housing and I would like to do that in a predominantly Black neighborhood. I think it’s important we take care of ourselves and protect ourselves. I want to be in the environment, being an activist and represent in that way, and strengthen our educational resources,” said Obikili.

Stories like Olivia's are the reason we are grateful for partners like you. Your gift to Pursue Scholars today will be actively investing in young Chicago leaders and helping them embark on a journey that will truly lead to change.