Shaneika Bowra
University of the District of ColumbiaShanekia Bowra, a junior at the University of the District of Columbia, is a student-athlete majoring in Accounting. She is Captain of the UDC Track team, Membership Chairperson for the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), and Public Relations Officer for Women of Worth. For the last two years, she has been active in work at the UDC Food Bank, Business and Career Building skills and presentations skills sessions (with Women of Worth), and coordinating with the Career Center at UDC to further success for women in the community in job application, interview, and work skills. This work has been part of Shaneika's interest in fighting inequality in both opportunities for women and in career readiness for women. She is currently working with the District of Columbia Tutoring and Mentoring Initiative DCTMI)researching m n how to attract and retain volunteers at the undergraduate level, generally, and mobilizing volunteer recruitment at UDC, specifically.
Personal Statement
In most households in Jamaica, you can't avoid church with your parents. Yes, sometimes I was forced, but then it just became natural that I wanted to attend. Through my church, I helped fundraise for the homes in and around our church community. This taught me that all people need help, and we can all find ways of giving back to our communities. I didn't know that first aid, food, and clothing drives for the homeless in Kingston, Jamaica would lead me to become a first-generation college student in the capital of the United States. But I knew that we all need the help of others. That's why I volunteer as the Public Relations Officer for Women of Worth which is a University organization dedicated to empowering women on and off campus in the D.C. area. This is also why I'm working with DCTutorMentor in my Capstone Project to help increase volunteerism among undergraduates. One of the areas that I continue to work in is levelling the gender field. I would like to work with United Planning Organization to mentor Capstone groups in foster parenting, pre-school nutrition, empowering women, and housing advocacy. I brought my family and my church's tradition of community service to UDC and the D.C. community; I hope I can continue that giving at a bigger level with UPO.