Denisha Scott: Studying abroad changes life trajectory
Denisha Scott was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. She’s an Altria Scholars progress coach in VCU’s Division of Strategic Enrollment Management, where she helps first-generation students in designated engineering and business majors succeed at VCU, persist in their studies and graduate on time with decreased debt. Denisha has a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising and is currently pursuing her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership at the VCU School of Education.
What program are you in and what’s your favorite thing about it?
I’m a student in the M.Ed. in Educational Leadership program, concentrating on Leadership Studies. I love it because many of my classmates also work at the school so it's nice to incorporate real life scenarios into what I'm learning. That especially helps because I plan to stay in higher education.
What drew you to the field of education?
In my first year at VCU as a fashion merchandising major, I wasn’t really well equipped and didn’t understand how college worked, essentially. With the help of the Global Education Office, I applied and was awarded the Gilman Scholarship. That’s how I was able to study abroad one summer, at Chiang Mai University in Thailand.
When I went to Chiang Mai, I met students from all over America. A lot of them were first-generation students who said the same thing as me: “I almost didn’t study abroad because I didn’t know I had these options.” That’s a problem! It shouldn’t be that I’m a senior and just learning that I have this opportunity.
That’s where the spark for education came from. I wanted to work with students at the college level who were lacking in those resources, who didn’t have anyone to talk to about it, about what’s going to happen when you get to college, or even what’s going to happen after you get your bachelor’s degree. That experience of studying abroad and meeting other students who were like me really made me realize that education was something that I could do and that I would love to do.
Why the VCU School of Education?
Diversity is very important to me. I grew up in Charlottesville – a great town, but the demographics aren’t as diverse. We all know that representation is key. Why would I want to be somewhere where I’m not seeing myself represented? Or where people aren’t seeing me because of what I look like or what my background is? The professors here come from a variety of different backgrounds. So many of the faculty, staff and students here are first generation. That’s one of those invisible demographics. You can’t see it; we all look different. But just to hear those experiences makes me feel like they might be able to understand where I’m coming from. It’s extremely important.
Do you have any tips for incoming students about how they can get the most from their time at VCU?
I pour into my students’ heads that self-advocacy is so important. It often has to be learned, but the sooner you start speaking up for yourself and are confident and comfortable enough to ask the questions that are floating through your head, the better. There's likely an answer. If there isn’t, you can be the one to create it.
Where would you hope to be in five years or after you’ve finished your degree?
Studying abroad really changed the trajectory for me, so I would love to be helping develop programs or working in programs that help first-generation students understand the opportunities they have for global education, and helping to implement new ideas into it.