Howard Women in Bloom
Since Howard University’s federal charter was signed on March 2, 1867, we have commemorated Charter Day by honoring the trailblazers of history while recognizing the triumphs of present-day heroes. This year we celebrate the intersection of Charter Day and Women’s History Month by honoring three of many Howard women that blossomed into visionaries, changemakers, and legends.
Writer: Nylah Lee
Ch. 1: Saadia Doyle
“Faith and fear cannot be friends.”
Saadia Doyle
MEAC All-time Leading Scorer for Women’s Basketball, Rookie of the Year, and Hall of Fame Inductee, are few of many accolades contributing to the ubiquitous influence of Howard University alumna Saadia Doyle. Nearly a decade following her matriculation, her #13 jersey is a beacon of fearlessness, drive, and resilience, gracing the ceiling of the gymnasium where she began to solidify a legacy.
Photographer: Faith Mulosmanaj
For Saadia Doyle, now a passionate clinical social worker in family shelters and outpatient mental health clinics, Howard University was a catalyst.
“Black people doing great things. Black excellence. Knowing that I wouldn't be the brightest person in all the rooms that I entered, and I would be able to reach out and touch people that are excelling. And they look like me. A lot of the things that I thought were unattainable, I can do. [Going to Howard] helped me to realize how tenacious, driven, and ambitious I was.”
Much of Doyle’s journey was about realizing the potential that was already apparent to everyone who crossed her path. Growing up in Atlanta, GA, Doyle recalls an initially apathetic approach to college education until the age of 16, when her adoptive guardians and scholarship programs proved that her community was invested in the woman she would become. “I never really considered how talented I was until people that I thought were talented shared their perspective of me,” she explained.
These perspectives grew more apparent as peers and faculty took notice of her drive both on and off the court. She particularly recalls one teammate who endearingly described her as “Err”.
“I'm like, ‘I want to be receptive to that, but what is ‘Err’?” questioned Doyle.
She elaborates … “There's an energy about you. And it's just like, ‘Go hard.’ You only know one speed. And it's very intense.”
This intensity showed on the court. Doyle was named All-MEAC all four years of her undergraduate at Howard, scoring 2,310 career points and averaging 18.0 pts per game. Her run is revered and celebrated by all athletic departments at her alma mater, independent of gender.
Now, a triple graduate of Howard University with Degrees in health education, and social work and an MBA in finance, her education and career are some of her proudest achievements.
Doyle now channels the intensity of her passion into helping those in need. “I almost get to live like 1000 lives, because I get to experience things that I wouldn't experience in my everyday life through my interactions with the individuals that I'm working with to help them improve and enhance their quality of life.”
“Do the things that scare you. If you wait until you feel ready, until you feel confident, the moment is gonna pass you by. Courage is something that comes after you face whatever it is that terrifies you.”
Saadia Doyle
Ch. 2: Kayla Austin
“I’m always consciously trying to create what I feel is missing.”
Pharrell Williams as quoted by Kayla Austin
19-year-old Howard University sophomore Kayla Austin is a Photographer, Videographer, entrepreneur and activist that has been combating gun violence since she was 12 years old through her invention and movement, My Gun’s Been Moved.
Photographer: Faith Mulosmanaj
Starting her entrepreneurial journey in the seventh grade, Kayla Austin’s biggest challenge was circumventing the doubt imposed upon her by those who believed that she was too young to embark on a project combating gun violence. In her experience growing up in Chicago, Illinois, however, Austin noticed gaps where children and teens intersect with conversations surrounding gun violence.
“Through doing research, I realized that most shootings were kids with a parent’s firearm in the home. So when I was 12, I invented a gun safety device to give parents a way to know when their gun has been moved. When I was 13, I started the patent process and made some design changes. But in this past year, I've just gotten a lot of traction, we're still raising funding and
manufacturing.”
Austin’s goal for My Gun’s Been Moved extends past the product itself. She aims to use her platform to educate firearm owners, especially parents, on the proper protocols for prioritizing safety in and outside of the home. This includes providing resources to families, partnering with schools to provide parents with firearm safety resources.
“If you drop your kid off at someone else's house, are you asking that parent ‘Hey… do you have a firearm that's open in the house?’ Encouraging those conversations and adding that to the national conversation around gun violence is definitely what I strive to do with My Gun’s Been Moved.”
Austin has managed to change the way that her supporters approach gun violence prevention and firearm safety, all while dodging the doubt and criticism that plagues many young changemakers with larger-than-life goals.
“But I also think that that's just part of who I am, is pushing through no matter whether or not people see the vision or not. I've always described myself as a visionary. Because I feel like I see the big picture, I sometimes will skip out on the little steps. I'm working on that part.”
Ch. 3: Jennifer Thomas
“I can do two things in life, I can dissolve into the mainstream or I can be distinct. To be distinct, I must be different. To be different, I must strive to be what no one else but I can be.”
Unknown as quoted by Jennifer Thomas
Miss Howard University. The first Black woman producer over CNN news entity. A member of Howard University Gospel Choir, School of Communications student council and Alpha Chapter Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. This list merely grazes the surface of the path charted by proud Howard University Alumna Jennifer Thomas. Now, she shares her wealth of knowledge with the students of Howard as a tenured professor and paradigm of success in more spheres than one.
Photographer: Faith Mulosmanaj
Starting her journey as an eager and driven Howard University Journalism student from Huntsville, Alabama, Jennifer Thomas did not shy away from an environment drastically different from what she was used to.
“I remember my birthday, I turned 18 when school was starting. A group of us went to Georgetown. It was the same weekend my family left …but I remember I felt safe. I was excited. And it was like, ‘I'm out here in DC. And I'm doing it on my own.’”
Spending 20 years working non-stop in the news industry a seemingly unmovable industry, Thomas quickly learned to reconstruct the blueprint to make room for herself in an overwhelmingly white male-dominated space. During her early years in the industry, she had to verbalize the shortcomings of her workspaces in order to receive fair pay and equal treatment. In the face of the frustrating familiarity of being one of few, if not the only Black woman, in many of her workplaces, she triumphed.
“You are your best ally and you have to speak up for yourself,” asserts Thomas, passing the same philosophy to her journalism students. While confidence played a key role in her achieving her goals, the celebrated professor acknowledges that rigor, dedication, and consistency are true ingredients to success.
Thomas is also fueled by a duty to ensure the success of her students. “I know what it takes to make it an industry. And I know there are too few people that look like me in positions that I had. And so I live by the motto of the Cathy Hughes School Communications, ‘Excellence without excuse’.”
Photographer: Faith Mulosmanaj
Writer: Nylah Lee