North Carolina A&T State University gave me so much more than a degree– sometimes I’m still in disbelief. 

As a Baltimore girl who became a first-generation college graduate, arriving at A&T was the beginning of a chapter that stretched me in ways I couldn’t have ever really fully understood at the time. I found community, opportunity, leadership, creativity and a sense of belonging that followed me far beyond Greensboro. 

Some of my favorite memories are tied to homecoming because GHOE has always felt like more than an event. There is something so sacred about returning to a place where so many versions of me existed: the young woman navigating being away from home on her own for the very first time, the student figuring out campus life, the friend making indelible memories, the relentless Smokey Bones server who somehow loved waiting tables until 3 a.m. and still made it to class the very next day, and the leader discovering what she was capable of. A lot of my passion, hustle and resilience was cemented here. 

During my time at Aggieland, I had the honor of serving as Miss of Charm City Aggies, an experience that strengthened my connection to both my Baltimore roots and my Aggie community. It also gave me space to explore my passion for storytelling, communication, service, and uplifting women – everything that continues to shape my life and the businesses and community initiatives I gravitate toward today. 

I was on the brink of entering my 20s when I first stepped foot on campus. Now, I’m returning in the final year of my 20s, preparing to enter an entirely new chapter as I approach 30. That’s such a full-circle moment. 

While I don’t have children just yet, I did birth something at A&T that has blossomed alongside me: my self-care brand, I’ll Keep Her. “I’ll Keep Her” is the meaning of my name, Akiva’, but over the years, it has taken on a life and meaning of its own. The brand that I planted during my undergraduate years has carried me into rooms, relationships, opportunities and experiences that the younger version of me walking across A&T’s campus could never have imagined. In many ways, I created I’ll Keep Her, but I’ll Keep Her has helped me to keep pieces of myself and to be a sounding board for an abundance of other women surrounding me. And long before I understood what my legacy could look like, fabrics of it were already taking shape at A&T. 

That’s what makes this 100^th homecoming especially meaningful. Generations of Aggies have walked this campus, built traditions, found lifelong friendships, fallen in love, discovered themselves and shared pieces of our alma mater with communities around the world. I’m proud that my story is one small part of that century-long legacy. 

There’s just always a nostalgic feeling that comes with being back on campus that is so hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it firsthand. You don’t simply remember A&T; it’s bigger than that notion. 

And every time I come home, I’m reminded that it holds memories of me that nowhere else can – and I honor that with a little more life, a little more wisdom and so much more gratitude. 

I’ll forever be an A&T Girly! Happy 100^th GHOE, Aggies!