Kwame began his college career in the fall of 2020 - a difficult time to be a new student on Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU’s) campus. Nevertheless, he persevered. Kwame found his tribe and excelled academically. Then, during the spring of his junior year, he hit a wall. Overloaded with classwork and his own expectations of himself, Kwame had a breakdown. “I had depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation,” he acknowledged. “symptoms like that.” One week after classes started, he abruptly decided to withdraw.
He felt guilty about taking a step back and thought maybe he’d let himself down. “I continue to share my story of that time because I’m not the only student who’s been through something like this. But I had a lot of affirmations from my therapist, my mom, my grandmother, my dad,” Kwame recalled. “Also, my faith in God - that's significant to me.”
Bolstered by support from his family and friends and strengthened by his faith, Kwame felt that he was ready to return to VCU in the fall. “I knew that to succeed, I needed to have community when I returned.” With this in mind, he joined a fraternity that many of his friends were already a part of. “I had been to Pace before, but I really started coming once I joined the fraternity. They were volunteering at a lot of Pace events.”
Kwame became a part of the fabric of the Pace Center and came together with other students to develop a worship service. “It’s been great to see a faith community form,” Kwame reflected. “During worship, we read scripture and talk about how it relates to our life. It’s beautiful to see the conversations that develop. And each week, I help plan the music for the service. Singing is an outlet for me. I cling to the words of the songs and hold them throughout the week. They can be simplistic, but powerful, and truly transformative.”
Kwame is excited to graduate in May and hopes to one day be a published author. “I’ve had some challenges along the way, but I’m grateful to God and to people around me who give me light and joy. I'm grateful for the grace and the kindness that they’ve extended to me. So I have to acknowledge that.” Because of your generosity, students like Kwame can experience community at Pace through God’s love. Thank you.
Comments