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This Is Where I Belong

Posted on December 30, 2020
Joy Washington

Temple James, left, and Yavaniy Garraway have been named winners of the "I Belong" essay contest hosted by the Department of English, Honors College, Student Academic Success, and Counseling and Testing Center. data-lightbox='featured'
Temple James, left, and Yavaniy Garraway have been named winners of the "I Belong" essay contest hosted by the Department of English, Honors College, Student Academic Success, and Counseling and Testing Center.

There’s potential and purpose in everyone, especially when they have found a place where they belong. Yavaniy Garraway and Temple James are the winners of the first β€œI Belong” essay contest at the ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ.

±«³§΄‘’s Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, Honors College, Student Academic Success, and Counseling and Testing Center hosted the essay contest.

β€œMany of the students answered the call to provide a creative self-reflection on their journey to belonging at ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ Alabama,” said Kristi Clayton, coordinator in the Office of Student Academic Success. β€œWe congratulate both Yavaniy and Temple. We are enriched by their journey to discover how they feel about belonging to the Jaguar family.”

Garraway, a junior transfer student from Hattiesburg, Miss., is majoring in music education in ±«³§΄‘’s College of Arts and Sciences. She became connected to ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ Alabama once she found a couple of organizations that aligned with her interests, like ±«³§΄‘’s Baptist Campus Ministries and the National Residence Housing Honorary.

β€œI love writing, and I was excited to submit my essay for this competition,” she said. β€œAnd, as I wrote my essay, I reflected on how I was being supported at ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ to meet my goals. And, the organizations I belong to made me even more comfortable as a student at ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ Alabama. I have been able to grow spiritually, professionally, and socially.”

James, a junior from Montgomery, Ala., is studying marketing at ±«³§΄‘’s Mitchell College of Business. Serving as a resident advisor in USA Housing has allowed her to have a deeper connection with ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ Alabama.

β€œPursuing my degree and working in Housing as an RA at USA have allowed me to grow professionally,” James noted. β€œMy experiences at ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ have made me into the person I am today. It was so easy for me to write this essay. I shared my connection between my passion in organizations and using what I have learned as a springboard to professional development. ”

 Garraway, a graduate of Hattiesburg High School thinks of the word diversity when she thinks of ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ, and James, a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, thinks of one word for ΊΪΑΟΜμΜΓ, and that’s belonging.

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