Alumni Spotlight
Written by Pia Forbes YOUNG ALUMNI: AN EYE ON THE FUTURE
It was the same resolute spirit that introduced her to CAU during an eighth- grade college tour. In another part of the Atlanta University Center, she spotted CAU and was intrigued by what was going on behind the gates. She did her research, and when the time came, she applied only to CAU. Winning scholarships from UNCF and the White House Initiative on HBCUs, Kemryn was admitted and thrived academically and in 2020 launched Project HBCU (Helping Beautiful Children Unite), a nonprofit dedicated to disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and helping marginalized Black students prepare for and attend HBCUs. Five years later, the nonprofit has expanded and is run by a staff, with Kemryn as an active board member. Kemryn says CAU made her the leader and visionary she is today. “Clark Atlanta literally changes you and it builds you into the next leader. I promise you I was not thinking about Berkeley. CAU opens the door for programs like this.” In addition, she credits CAU with helping to establish her identity and is quick to tell anyone who asks why she attended.
Kemryn Lawrence—who earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Clark Atlanta University—is pursuing a doctorate in education with an emphasis on people, politics, and leadership from the University of California at Berkeley. She has, without debate, come a long way from the little girl who could not read until the fifth grade. The Galveston, Texas, native, who was raised between her hometown and New Orleans, could have opted for bitterness against a system that failed to diagnose the dyslexia that was holding her back. Instead, Kemryn (BS ’22, MPA ’24) chose activism and made a conscious decision to work within the system to improve it and help it work for those who come behind her—starting with standing up against a classroom of racist peers when she was in the ninth grade in Galveston. “Someone spit on my umbrella, and I got called the N word,” she recalls. But coming from a culture that was Afro- based, Kemryn says she was resolute in letting them know they could not turn her around with their words or actions. “They figured out I was coming from a different place. I let the whole class know I am not to be greeted with racism. Let’s just say I left them with something to think about.”
Clark Atlanta Magazine
16
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