Spotlight: Graduate Ambassador TiKilah Turner
Meet TiKilah Turner, a 2022-2023 ambassador from the Master of Social Work program. It's her second consecutive year as a graduate ambassador.
Below she talks about her takeaways from the ambassadorship and what she's looking forward to this year.
What inspired you to attend graduate school?
My childhood summers were spent doing enriching activities like traveling, completing mini-history projects, or creating vision boards. While creating a vision board, I searched for inspirational quotes, and one quote resonated with me so much so that it became a mantra. "Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon.” My seven-year-old self encouraged me to attend graduate school; I'm here to enjoy my journey to the moon.
What do you like most about the Detroit community?
I love the hustle that each Detroiter either has or grows to know. Detroit hustles harder--no ifs/ands/ or buts about it!
What makes you proudest to be a Warrior?
To have a university in an urban city means nothing if there's no tie-in to the community it takes up space in. The dedication to supporting and uplifting communities of color is what makes me proud to be a Warrior.
What made you want to be a graduate ambassador?
My second semester of graduate school was rough! All my life I've been a dedicated student, but that semester was different. I lacked drive, I was experiencing the pandemic blues, I absolutely did not like being an online student, and overall I didn't feel connected to the campus community.
I received an email from the School of Social Work saying they were giving away free gear and thought to myself, "well, obviously I want free gear!" So after work, I headed over to the pickup spot, and what I anticipated to be a "Hi, thank you, take care" situation ended up being the spark I needed to get going. I met the dean of social work and a few students. A fruitful 10-minute conversation changed the course I was on and I don't even know the name of the student I was talking to. Though, I left feeling fulfilled I thought about how many other students may need that support too and my mother raised me to pour into others with the same zeal others pour into you. So here I am, ready to pour and be poured into.
What are your research interests?
Homelessness amongst the female veteran population in the Midwest, and the epidemiology of stress in infants within urban v. rural communities.
Other WSU affiliations