Ghada Abdelmoumin is a Ph.D. computer science student with Howard University and an associate professor of information technology at Northern Virginia Community College. Ghada received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical power engineering from Alexandria University, a public research institution that is the second largest university in Egypt. She earned two Master of Science degrees, one in computer science from Western Illinois University and the other in computer science and applications from Virginia Tech.  Ghada has broad experience in teaching, from working in the Fairfax County Public School system as a special education instructional assistant and substitute teacher to serving as a visiting professor at Devry University and a faculty advisor at Stratford University. In 2014, Ghada received the Teacher of the Year award from the Virginia Career College Association. She also has professional experience as a senior design engineer at Global Link Solutions, Inc. She is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Her teaching and professional interests have focused on machine learning, cloud computing, mobile computing, software engineering, and cybersecurity.

My scholarly journey before joining Howard was long and limited in options. The day I became a bison, I realized that, at Howard, the possibilities are boundless, and the opportunities are endless. With Howard, I can go somewhere, and that somewhere is absolutely wonderful. It is an inspiring journey of rediscovery, hope, and renewed promises

Omari Allen is a third-year student earning his Doctor of Law at the Howard University School of Law. In 2020, he received the Tom S. Williamson, Jr. Scholarship funded by the African American Managing Partners and General Counsel Network. Allen’s legal experience is already extensive: He completed an internship with the National Resources Defense Council in Santa Monica, California, an internship at Gupta Wessler PLLC, and a judicial externship in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ninth circuit in San Francisco, California, among others. Allen has taken leadership positions throughout his academic career: During his undergraduate years at Pepperdine University, Allen was a chapter president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and at Howard, he is active in student governance as a director of graduate elections with the Howard University Elections Commission. Allen is also a senior staff editor for Howard Human & Civil Rights Law Review, a student-managed, faculty-supervised law review published by the Howard University School of Law.Allen chose Howard because he wanted to attend a law school that was “a pivotal place of the births and successes of the Civil Rights and Black Liberation Movements.” His favorite thing about Howard is being consistently inspired and challenged by his peers and by alumni. The most important lesson that Howard taught him is that all the diverse talents and experiences of a community are necessary for progress.

Howard emboldens its students to firmly step into their individual purpose and to lead an even greater path than the exceptional Bison that came before them.

Ms. Jordyn Allen is a senior marketing major from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and serves at the 62nd executive president of the Howard University Student Association (HUSA). 

Ms. Allen has served in HUSA for three years as executive chief of staff intern, and the youngest and only two-term chair of the HUSA Senate and senator for the School of Business. During her time in the HUSA Senate, Ms. Allen passed legislation creating $70,000 in permanent annual funding for the Howard University Royal Court, established “Junior Senate” sessions to provide nearly 50 freshman the opportunity to draft, debate and pass legislation, and authored “Black Panther Day,” “The Kamala Harris Public Servant Award,” and “The Good Trouble Award” legislation to honor the work of past and current Bison. 

As a student, Ms. Allen has interned at Google, JPMorgan Chase & Company, Emerson Collective, and National Crittenton, and for the Honorable Kamala D. Harris, U.S. Vice President, and former U.S. Senator. On campus, Jordyn is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the HU Speech & Debate Team, the HU Florida Club, and is a Student Ambassador for Admissions. 

Beyond Howard, Ms. Allen is a passionate public speaker who lives by the motto “Speak to Inspire. Speak to Empower.” Her speeches have been imbedded in high school and college public speaking curricula across the nation and at Howard University. Ms. Allen was named the NSDA Informative Speaking National Champion, HBCU National Informative Speaking Champion, and Harvard University Informative Speaking Champion. Upon graduating, Ms. Allen plans to complete law school and become a corporate attorney and litigator. 

Named Filmmaker of the Month by the District of Columbia Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (OCTFME) for the month of August. "Crispus” (produced, written and directed by Thomas) is based on the life story of Kalief Browder, a teenager falsely accused of stealing a backpack and thrown into solitary confinement in New York’s infamous Riker’s Island Prison.

I want to tell bold stories that reflect the times that we are in now. I just want to tell stories and stay true to the realities of the people who inspire them. I see film as a surreal art. If the work isn’t bold, then it hasn’t gone far enough.

Carter Clinton is a Ph.D. candidate conducting groundbreaking research in the field of genetic anthropology. He has been selected for numerous awards and honors, including the 2017-2018 Just-Julian assistantship as well as 2018 Graduate Student of the Year. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Clinton seeks to reconstruct the daily lives of people who have traditionally been excluded from history. He focuses his doctoral research at Howard University on the soil of the New York African Burial Ground, where enslaved Africans were laid to rest. By performing soil chemistry, bacterial DNA, and geospatial analysis, Clinton presented a new discovery regarding the diets of African slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries. In March 2019, the Cosmos Foundation selected Clinton as a Cosmos Scholar for his proposal titled "Next generation sequencing of bacterial DNA found in New York African Burial Ground soil samples". Clinton's research is also featured in Nature Scientific Reports, a subjournal of the #1 science journal in the world, and can be accessed on the Nature website.

I think it’s very important to address and combat the paucity of data on African peoples. Discovering one's ancestry and genomic identity is pertinent to the way in which they self-identify and are able to efficiently address generational health issues.

David Edgerton III is a graduating senior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Strategic Legal Management Communications. In April 2021, Edgerton was selected from a pool of 845 applications from 328 institutions to be a Harry S. Truman scholar. He also serves as a civic engagement coordinator for the Howard University Student Association and as president of the Howard University Speech and Debate Team. He was named a Global Scholar and elected student council representative for the Council on International Education Exchange during his time abroad in Spain, Italy and England.Edgerton is an aspiring civil rights attorney who will attend the Howard University School of Law. He has dedicated his life to service and community action. An aspiring multi-vocational change agent, he believes that it is our duty as a nation to build up every child from every background.

I feel incredibly humbled to receive this award acknowledging the hard work I put into making my community a better place. I thank Howard University for inspiring me to be a change agent and to always have a passion to serve. I will use this award to further my skills at Howard University School of Law and continue the legacy of Black excellence that Bison before me have started.

When Howard University criminology major and volleyball player Jurnee Farrell had to choose between playing in the MEAC playoffs and saving a stranger’s life, the decision was, in her words, “a no-brainer”. In 2017, Farrell signed up with the donor registry for Be The Match, an organization that matches patients in need with potential bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell donors, with the encouragement of head volleyball coach Shaun Kupferberg. Two years later, Be The Match contacted Farrell, saying that she was a match to a 57 year-old woman with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She spent her final conference tournament recovering on the sidelines, encouraged by her coach to go through with the donation. Jurnee Farrell hopes to be an example that will encourage more African Americans to sign up as potential donors. According to Be The Match, the chance of Black patients finding a donor match is 23%, the lowest rate of all ethnic groups. Howard University has partnered with Be The Match to increase the odds of Black patients finding a donation. To join the Howard registry, you may register online at join.bethematch.org/howard.

If you get the opportunity to save someone’s life with such an easy process -- you shouldn’t hesitate.

Briah Glover is a graduating senior majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. She works with teenagers to tackle their mental health issues as a mental health first aid responder certified by the state of Maryland, as well as in a volunteer role as a mentor for middle school students. In the summer of 2019, Glover was a research intern at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center (RADC), where she assisted with the Minority Aging Research Project. In fall 2020, she will be a human development intern, training middle schoolers on life skills. She is passionate about research in the field of psychology, specifically as it relates to development and social cognition, and looks forward to performing research with esteemed psychologist Dr. Harrell in Fall 2020. Glover is currently serving in her second term as Editor in Chief of the Bison Yearbook.Glover’s favorite thing about Howard is the University’s history, as well as the students’ and faculty’s commitment to continue making history. She credits Howard with helping her to develop her sense of self confidence and teaching her that taking risks can help propel her forward. Glover chose Howard because she grew up learning about the unique culture that HBCUs provide, and Howard’s combination of HBCU culture and academic excellence made it an obvious choice.

The more reflective you are, the more effective you are.

Nira Headen is a senior afro-american studies and sports administration double major, Spanish minor from Baltimore, Maryland. She is very active on campus, with affiliations and leadership roles including serving as the elections commissioner, social action chair of Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and president of the National Panhellenic Council, to name a few. In addition to her impressive campus participation and academic work, Headen has excelled in various internships during her time at Howard, with positions at Howard University Men's Basketball Team and Sports Information Department, Under Armor, the NBA, Growth by Design Talent and an internship with TLS Talent Agency. Nira is passionate about sports and racial equality and she seeks to utilize sports to make the world a better place.Headen’s favorite thing about Howard is having the space to be unapologetically Black. She states from her classwork and internships to the fashion she wears, her Blackness is celebrated. Ironically, Headen did not want to attend Howard at first, as she has a family legacy at Howard and wanted her own experience. However, after visiting a friend at Howard and attending a lecture, Headen knew that Howard would mold her into the Black woman sports executive that she wants to be. The most important lesson that she has learned is that excellence is earned: “As a student, you are flooded with emails of awards and grants won by the University and so you start to want the same for yourself. But your friends, classmates, professors, and advisors will not give it to you; you must earn it.” 

Howard University is my mecca, my center. No matter where I go in the world, whether it be studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain or grabbing breakfast before a football game on Georgia Ave., I will always gravitate back to Howard. I am grounded in this University, the lessons it taught me, and the lifelong friends with which it blessed me. I will definitely return to my mecca when wanting to learn the newest fashion trend or dance move. When I am lost in the world, I can come back to re-familiarize myself with my core, with the tenants of truth and service, and with the place which sent me into the world in the first place.

American government and Black politics PhD student Briana Hyman has been involved with the Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center since beginning at Howard. Starting off as a volunteer with the Election Day Command Center in conjunction with the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, then as a Graduate Research Assistant, and now, she is the Winslow Sargeant Doctoral Award recipient. While balancing her time as an instructor at North Carolina A&T State University, Hyman is writing a doctoral dissertation that focuses on why U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico are not given presidential voting rights and congressional representation. She has been asked by the Walters Center to use her research to produce a paper on voter representation rights for D.C. residents. 

Howard is special to me because I have always been a minority in the schools I have attended and roles I have been in. At Howard, everyone is a minority. I was no longer singled out as the sounding board for all things POC or women-centered. I felt more included and part of a diverse family during my time at Howard than at any other point in my academic or professional life. This comfortability is something that I did not realize I was missing. I did not even notice the ways in which I have been stifled academically with other forms of formal education. Howard was the first time I could actually breathe as a student.

D’Zyre Jones is a senior majoring in computer information systems with a concentration in cyber security and minor in graphic design. She is part of a variety of organizations on campus, including student government, which she credits with cultivating her into the bold and vivacious young Black woman she is today. For the 2019-2021 academic year, she was the vice president of the School of Business Student Council, where she prioritized creating a more gender-neutral, LGBT+ friendly environment at the School of Business and providing students with the resources they need to succeed. Jones is a mental health first aid-certified mentor to with Mentoring Youth and Teens Health (MYTH) and the 2020-2021 programming chair for the Howard Chapter where they focus on bringing awareness to mental health in the Black community. Additionally, she is a cadet in the Air Force ROTC program, a member of the National Congress of Negro Women, and a content writer for HERCampus Howard chapter. She is also part of the Student Life and Activities team of student workers where she helps with programming ideas to facilitate a closer connection between Howard faculty and Howard Students. 

Jones’s favorite thing about Howard is the people—not just students, but professors, staff, faculty, and everyone in between. When she first stepped on campus, she was “graced with everything I thought Black people were and were not.” According to Jones, Howard chose her as much as she chose Howard; once she visited, she knew Howard was the epitome of Black excellence and that it would be her home. The most important lesson Jones has learned at Howard is, in her words, that “what’s for you will not pass you…It took me years to understand that Allah had already carved my path and if it’s not for me right now it’s okay— I’m okay — but if it was really for me it will come back, meaning it never passed.” 

"The tiny seed knew that in order to grow it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness, and struggle to reach light,” by Sandra Kring.

Laten Jordan is a senior honors political science major and president of the Coalition of Activist Students Celebrating the Acceptance of Diversity and Equality (CASCADE). He is a Williams-Franklin Foundation Scholar and has served as Chief of Staff in the Howard University Student Association for one year.

Outside of campus, Jordan has worked as a Legislative Intern in the United States Senate, a Political Organizing and Policy Intern with the ACLU, and currently works as Victoria Secret’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Senior Intern.

Jordan accredits his success to the friendships and relationships that he has been able to cultivate within Howard’s community. The students, professors, and his brothers of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, Psi Tau Chapter are what make Howard truly feel like a home to him; an environment where he is encouraged to be his most authentic self.

I want every Bison to know that you are enough. Whether you are struggling to find community or have encountered many failures, I want to remind you that you are good enough.

Kenzell Munroe is a senior Fashion Design major and creator of a sustainable fashion brand, Things of That Nature. Through his brand, Munroe creates hand-made products from upcycled material. He recently partnered with the streetwear brand Atmos in a workshop showcasing sustainable fashion. During the workshop, he created 12  upcycled tote bags that have become his signature item. Born in Syndey, Australia and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Munroe developed a love for Earth and a desire to preserve it for future generations. After learning to sew during his sophomore year, Munroe’s need to source materials for his coursework at Howard inspired him to rework denim and cargo fabrics from his own wardrobe, as well as fabrics bought from thrift stores or donated by friends and family. His signature tote bags are now a popular accessory on the Yard. 

Munroe hopes to influence and inspire everyone he connects with, bringing joy and new perspectives  through fashion design. He believes that fashion design can create a connection without words, conveying a message and ethos through artistic products. He credits Professor Mikki Taylor as his mentor during matriculation, teaching him the importance of sustainability in the fashion industry and pinpointing pollution problems and potential solutions. 

Things of That Nature alludes to the common phrase, which to me means ‘etc.’ or similar subjects pertaining to a specific realm. My realm is fashion, and I plan to involve myself in various ways in the industry, including but not limited to, design, modeling, styling, creative direction, and collaboration. Howard has excelled at teaching me that having different skills under your belt are important and beneficial.