Raven Wade
Oklahoma City Community College
Raven Wade is a Business major at Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) with a concentration in Finance. She is interested in being a financial analyst and wants to use her knowledge to offer free counseling to those suffering financial hardship. She is passionate about serving the community and regularly volunteers with Positive Tomorrows Elementary School for homeless children. When she is with the students, she reads to them, plays with them, and talks to them about their future. She is currently working on a collaboration with The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM) nonprofit to provide training sessions that help released inmates reintegrate into society. She believes that education plays a major role in breaking the cycle of poverty and incarceration. She has volunteered with the OCCC Drive Smart, Safe, and Sober event, the OCCC Trash Clean Up effort, and the Oklahoma City Arts Festival. At OCCC, she is a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Kappa Beta Delta Business Honor Society, OCCC President’s Leadership Class 2019, Students Connecting with Mentors for Success (SCMS), OCCC Honors Program, President’s Honor Roll, and Vice President’s Honor Roll. She is also a recipient of the Civic Impact Award for 30 Community Service Hours.
Personal Statement
I am passionate about empowering disenfranchised communities. Often when we think of homelessness or discrimination, we do not understand the magnitude of those statements, and we cannot put a face to those words. My goal is to provide resources to those who lack them and to develop individuals professionally and personally so they can escape the toxic recidivism and homelessness cycles. I volunteer with Positive Tomorrows, a school for homeless children, because it is vital to start at the root of the issue and give the future generation the tools necessary to follow a different path.
My education has provided an example of affluent people of color, something I did not witness growing up. Seeing professionals in my community flourishing has inspired me to help others achieve the same success. I am teaming up with the director of SCMS and professional consultant Bryon Dickens to provide professional etiquette, attire, and communication skills to recently released non-violent offenders. In my free time, I am putting together a project to interview someone experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City. My goal is to humanize these issues and show the public how they can help.
