Annesha Hardy says the mentorship she received throughout her childhood and teenage years is a big part of the reason she is at UM-Dearborn. The value of a college education wasn’t instilled in young people in her community. Encouragement? “That came from the mentors at the Boys and Girls Club and all their college programs,” Annesha says. So she’s made it a priority to support others.

A sisterhood in service

Annesha began her college career at Henry Ford College. There, she served as a mentor to incoming students. One of the first things she did after transferring to UM-Dearborn was join the university’s Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Xi Phi chapter. Many of her mentors at the Boys and Girls Club are members. Annesha admired their commitment to community service and was especially excited by the organization’s youth programs. For a time, she was a solo, meaning the only AKA member on the UM-Dearborn campus, and her main connections were with the local graduate chapter.

As part of her AKA service, she hosted events such as Build our Economic Wealth, a financial literacy workshop where she brought in a State Farm Insurance agency owner to speak to students about financial management and understanding credit. She collaborated with UM-Dearborn's Planet Blue Ambassadors to host a sustainability workshop educating students on how to compost, generate energy and reduce overconsumption. She hosted a voters trivia game on campus educating students on the history of voting in the United States and how our government operates.

Beyond AKA, she organized a donation drive for Genesis House II, a women and children's shelter in Detroit. Through social media and community outreach, she gathered over 700 essential items, including soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, sanitary items, washcloths, and towels. “Witnessing the heartfelt gratitude of the women at the shelter upon receiving our donations was profoundly fulfilling, reinforcing the transformative power of collective action,” Annesha reflects. “It was heartbreaking to see some of the living conditions the women had to go through and the children had to grow up in. This experience has only deepened my dedication to service, motivating me to continue spearheading initiatives that uplift and support those in need.”

The power of role models who look like you

Annesha also delivered a virtual presentation to UM-Dearborn students on the topic of self-efficacy in youth. She believes the importance of Black youth having Black role models cannot be overstated. “I think a lot of kids, especially in Detroit, in the Black community, they can see someone that's another race and they know what success is. But that doesn't mean they see it in themselves, because they may not see themselves in that person,” she observes. “I don't think people understand how real that is, that thought process. It's nice to admire someone, that's great, but because it's so pushed that you're different, especially growing up, you just have this belief about yourself that you don't fit in or you're different. You may not see yourself in them to even push up that goals standard.”

She knows from her own experience how important a counternarrative is, because that’s what her Boys and Girls Club mentors provided for her. “Growing up, I didn’t know what a high standard was for myself. They really pushed the bar up,” she reflects. “I knew I wanted to go to college, it would have been less likely I’d be inclined to push through the hardships and finish if I'd never had met them. But since I met them and I've been around such successful women, and in the sorority, you really do push up your standards. It feels possible. So when I see someone in a high position, I think, ‘Wow, that’s possible.’ Especially if they look like me.”

A future in marketing

A marketing major, Annesha’s goal is to work in marketing and sales, a path she landed on after completing a senior practicum on marketing with the Boys and Girls Club when she was in high school. “I realized back then that I had a skill of insight and the ability to gain a deep and intuitive understanding of a situation, problem or phenomenon. I could analyze the data and find a solution,” she explains. She brings these same qualities to her current job as a patient observation aide at a local hospital, where she sits for hours with patients who struggle with mental health issues. After her shift is over, she is often told by her patients that they really enjoyed her sitting and speaking with them.

At UM-Dearborn, Annesha has launched a Google Nonprofit Marketing Immersion project. Advised by Associate Professor of Marketing Crystal Scott, Annesha will lead a team of students to help a local nonprofit with digital advertising. She is also putting her marketing skills to work for herself, networking with other professionals and seeking career opportunities. The efforts are paying off: in summer 2024, Annesha will begin an internship in Seattle with Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud computing division.

She’ll continue to be active with AKA and serve as a mentor to others as well. “I had to learn a lot of things through mistakes I made,” she says. “I always want to teach people through mistakes. I may not always know best, but I know what not to do. I wish I’d had that, but I knew I could offer that to somebody else.”