Student Bloggers

In my junior year of high school in preparation for college admissions, I discerned a desire to study abroad. I developed an interest in studying in the United Kingdom, stemming from my dream to one day study at the University of Oxford as a Marshall or Rhodes scholar. This interest was further piqued by Morehouse College’s robust international education program when completing a prospective student visit, in which I was further exposed to various study abroad and national fellowship opportunities. While in my senior year with my eyes set upon Morehouse after an early decision action, I learned about the English-Speaking Union (ESU) Luard Morse Scholarship for HBCU students to study in the UK their junior year. The college announced the ESU’s selection of Mr. Artimus Cunningham as the 2019-20 recipient. I would later work with Artimus in his role as Editor-in-Chief of the Howard Thurman Honors Program Journal Litterātus, later succeeding him in the role. His selection prompted me to research the Luard Morse Scholarship, resulting in an eagerness to apply at the appropriate time when arriving to Morehouse.

Some time after learning about the scholarship, I was viewing a History Channel series titled “Jesus: His Life” that featured New Testament scholar Professor Shively T. J. Smith. I knew of Dr. Shively because we shared the same denominational affiliation. She was the Scholar-In-Residence at the “national cathedral of African Methodism,” the historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Washington D.C., a flagship congregation of America’s first Black autonomous Protestant denomination. After reviewing Dr. Smith’s background, I discovered that the Fisk University Alumna was a Luard Morse Scholar who studied abroad at Oxford. This finding sealed the deal in my aspiration to compete and win the scholarship and ultimately study abroad in the UK during my undergraduate matriculation.

 During the Spring semester of my freshman year at Morehouse, the Thurman Honors Program hosted an “Empowerment Forum” on navigating the competitive application process. The virtual panel featured alumni of the college who won the Fulbright, Marshall, Rhodes and other scholarships, including Rami Blair, the 2014-15 Luard Morse Scholar. After hearing Rami’s answer to my question about his UK study abroad experience, I again knew it was meant for me to apply. The following semester, I applied for the scholarship and was selected as the 2021-22 recipient. I could not have achieved this accomplishment without the encouragement and support I received from my mentors and professors Drs. Alison D. Ligon and Leah Creque. I chose the University of Manchester because I wanted to take courses in sociology and religion in their comparative religion and social anthropology course of study. I felt that these course offerings would prove beneficial to my undergraduate training and research, aiding in my ability to critically evaluate historical and contemporary approaches of interpreting religious material and identify various theoretical frameworks and lenses essential to understanding gender, sexuality, race and class performance.

Prior to my departure, I was not sure what to expect. I was uber-excited to travel to Europe for the first time and embark upon new vistas of intellectual enrichment and personal development. While working with Arcadia as my assigned service provider, the staff offered resources detailing practical information about day to day life and helpful tips. The pre-departure orientation along with annual check-ins with my advisor made the transition seem more real and less fantastical, alleviating some of my anxiousness. In a meeting, an Arcadia staffer informed me about the Curry Mile, a stretch of shoppes and mostly East and South Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants on Winslow road running through the center of the Rusholme area.

On my first day in Manchester, I walked the Curry Mile in amazement of the different diasporas visible in the latitudinal marketplace, eating my first meal at an Eritrean lounge and restaurant called Beilul. While enjoying Keyih Tebsi (spicy berbere stewed lamb) and injera with mango fresh juice, I recalled earlier memories of finding out about the scholarship, seeing Dr. Shively on TV, and the Morehouse panel discussion. Subsequently, I was led to a site of memory I had not reflected on previously. I visited a midnight scene of me working at my desk in the corner of my blue accented bedroom, listening to John Coltraine’s “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes,” before beginning my Luard Morse Scholarship application. After finishing dinner, I walked through the Curry Mile filled with gratitude and a full stomach on the way to my residence at Hulme Hall in Victoria Park as I listened to the Coltraine song that heralded my first glance at the night sky from across the pond.