Finding Your Voice as a Langston Freshman

I used to think that being heard meant having the biggest personality, the loudest voice, and the most connections in the room.

I was a broadcast journalism major, and we had a lot of big personalities in my classroom. Most of the time, that could be pretty intimidating when you don’t really know anyone and you’re not as familiar with your professor as your peers are. I didn’t used to be like that. I would shy away from speaking out loud and hold my thoughts to myself, because even though I am a pretty vocal person, when I switched into an environment of unfamiliarity and wanted to make a good impression, I somehow shrunk a little.

Which is funny, because I learned very quickly that my professors wanted to hear my thoughts and opinions on different subjects and wanted me to participate in class discussions. What I learned about myself, though, was that I’m relational. I’m very much a one-on-one person; if I’m just meeting someone new, I’m not very vocal. One of my professors noticed the difference and confronted me about it.

I remember being in announcing class when my professor at the time, Professor Flannigan, was the first to notice the change. I had her for radio production the semester before. She saw me not talking as much as the class size grew in this new course, as opposed to our six-person radio production class, and she pulled me aside and affirmed me. She let me know that I could speak and contribute to class discussions, even if I wasn’t familiar with the students around me. She always reminded us: when it’s your time to speak up, speak confidently, speak clearly, and speak with assurance.

Those lessons set me on a path I couldn’t have imagined for myself. It wasn’t that she gave me a voice. It was that she lit a fire inside me to encourage me to use it. After that, I didn’t hesitate to speak up in class, ask questions, challenge ideas, and remain open to learning new things.

My professors challenged me to seek more leadership positions. I became a digital editor for the Langston Gazette and helped run our school newspaper’s online presence. I led a Bible study group for two college friends, and we had great discussions about a plethora of topics. I almost always took point on group projects and was the main speaker to introduce our work. I did a voiceover for our school’s anniversary, and I was even featured on Langston’s page announcing one of the largest endowment gifts in the communications department’s history. None of that would have happened if I hadn’t had someone speak life into me, see my potential, and give me permission to take up space without fear.

My story is not unique, and that’s exactly the point. Sometimes we hold things we want to say inside, agreeing with everyone rather than offering our two cents or shaking things up. But here’s the truth: we all have a voice. We may have different perspectives, and that’s okay, because we were not all raised the same. Some have different experiences than others. But everyone is valuable, and everyone has something to say.

So if you’re someone who is hesitant, unsure, doesn’t like attention, or is afraid of taking up space, let it go. Your true power is in your voice and what you have to say.

When you think about it, many of the great movements in American history were driven by young people. Take the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Of course you had known leaders like MLK, Malcolm X, John Lewis, and A. Philip Randolph, but they understood the importance of engaging college students and galvanizing them to march, protest, and advocate. College students were the driving force of the civil rights movement. If it weren’t for those young people who were not afraid to speak up and stand up for what they believed in, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech. Yet often freedom of speech seems to apply only to certain groups of people. People both inside and outside of the U.S. are constantly suffering from the lack of freedom they have to express themselves, with their civil liberties chipped away piece by piece. How often do you stop to consider that the voice you have exists because of those who came before you? Our ancestors fought for our liberties and our rights. We can only do them justice by exercising those rights and not being afraid to use our voices. You have a voice, and you have the privilege and opportunity to use it.c

Going to an HBCU is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You get to be surrounded by future doctors, teachers, scientists, computer analysts, nurses, and artists. You get to be each other’s cheerleaders, because you understand what it takes to reach certain levels and then navigate those spaces as a Black person. Once you’re out in the real world, people may try to push you to assimilate, but you don’t have to. You can still find ways to take up space and let your voice be heard. It becomes harder when there aren’t people in the room who look like you or who are advocating for you, so please take this time at Langston to find your voice, find your passions, make a change, and do good. You might not have a Professor Flannigan story during your college career, but you can be a Professor Flannigan to someone else.