Teaa Hopkins, the coordinator of student engagement and leadership here at Langston, has started a support system for women on campus called “Tea with Ms. Teaa.” It is a space for the young ladies on campus to have healthy communication and conversations.
Students naturally gravitate towards Ms. Teaa because of her welcoming personality. The first event was held in August at the black heritage center and the second one was held at the end of September in the auditorium. She has also been meeting in smaller groups with specific people when more delicate topics come up.
She would love for her event to happen monthly, but it takes a lot of planning and coordination. She also must be mindful that they don’t always have to be grand in appearance.
The first event that Ms. Teaa hosted, she had help from Zariyah Graves, a senior computer science major, who also works in the office of student life with her. Graves helped with the behind-the-scenes of the event. She made sure that there were enough handouts and handheld mirrors at each table. There was catering provided so that was another aspect of the event that Graves aided in.
In general, she was “helping with the setup, looking behind the scenes, making sure that everything was in place for that day.” Graves said working with Ms. Teaa has helped mold her and get her out of her comfort zone to learn better hospitality skills. This event was something new and different because Graves did not have something like this in her freshman or sophomore years. She said that this experience would be one that she takes with her as she graduates next semester.
Cierrah Kabba, a junior biology major was at the first event that Ms. Teaa hosted in the black heritage library. She also said that in her freshman and sophomore years, she did not have an event like this at all. “When I was a freshman and sophomore [the students] directed themselves, we didn’t have anywhere to go.”
Kabba said that going to this event helped her gain the ability to express herself in a non-judgmental way, “it was just very comfortable. It felt uplifting.” She said she would rate her experience at Ms. Teaa’s event as a 9/10 because it was a very welcoming community and it felt very natural like she was just talking amongst her friends.
Rebecca Gambor
Staff Writer
Rebecca Gambor is a junior broadcast journalism major.
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