Jackson State is like a family for me. I have no one here, other than my husband. But somehow, I really feel unconditional support, love, and most importantly, respect from this university. When I first enrolled here, as a native of India, I had problems with my communication – my language, my accent, and everything. But I never felt left out. Everyone from my department, and from the university, has supported me throughout this journey. They’ve treated me like family – regardless of my color, my gender or anything that could divide us. They’ve always supported me.
While here, I also became pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful daughter in September 2018. After six months, I was to take my comps exam for my public health degree. I thought at that moment that it wasn’t possible because I was a full-time breastfeeding mom. But my department said, ‘Listen, you can take the exam in the exam hall, but if you have an emergency situation and you have to go feed your daughter or just take care of her, you can go ahead and do that. It’s not going to hamper your exam.’ I can’t explain how much that means to a mother. My baby, at that time, was only five months old. So if I didn’t receive that kind of support, I would have never believed that I could finish my comps and get my degree. It was a dream for me. I really want to share this story with everyone.”
– Shinjita, Ph.D. student in environmental studies from India
