Amani Harrison
Virginia Commonwealth University
Amani Harrison, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University, is a student leader who has dedicated her college experience to uplifting young women of every age. Serving as a mentor for Carver Promise allowed her to develop a close relationship with an elementary student. This relationship inspired her to engage other VCU students in making positive impacts in the lives of Richmond's youth through Queen in You, a chapter of a women's empowerment organization she founded at VCU. Amani took her message of women's empowerment abroad when she studied in Ghana exploring issues of privilege and power. As a member of VCU LEAD, a living-learning program on campus, she continues to use her natural leadership abilities to connect with other students through service. She inspired entering first year students as a Ram Camp Leader and assisted with having student concerns heard in her role as a Presidential Student Ambassador. Amani's goals for her final year at VCU are to grow, strengthen and enhance work of Queen in You to include more VCU students and community youth.
Personal Statement
Spring semester of Freshman year I fell in love with mentoring at Carver Elementary School. I continued on in my sophomore year because I wanted to build a bond with my mentee. Early on I began to understand how important it was to her for me to just show up to our mentoring sessions. When I entered into VCU Lead living & learning program I discovered and embraced how I could take my leadership skills/ resources and provide it to her. I continued to discover and find ways to make an impact not just in her life now, but to other young girls. The
following semester I founded a chapter organization on Campus called Queen In You that did just that. We empower young women through mentorship and community service. I collaborated with a Coordinator and came up with a plan to get our members to mentor there as a group. We fostered a community within a community. However, there are still far too many elementary schooled children who need attention and resources not taught in the classroom. My mission is to unite more VCU students and young girls in Richmond to close the gap and positively impact lives.
