This episode is dedicated to addressing sexual assault on college campuses.  When you think about college, you think about freedom, and dating, and parties.  However, there’s not enough discussion, especially with new students, the darker side of college life.  College has so many factors that make it a breeding ground for sexual violence and misconduct.  So much so, that the government has regulations that govern the reporting of claims, training of staff, and support of victims. The federal policy is called Title IX.  Every institution is required to have a basic policy. You should familiarize yourself with it, understand what constitutes misconduct or sexual violence know your where you can report sexual assault claims.  This information is found on your colleges website and in your student handbook. 

Our guest on this episode will explain Title IX and more. Dr. Penny Smith is the founder of Alegria Technologies and Consulting. She is  and author, higher education executive director and campus date rape survivor. She is a first generation college student – graduating from Fisk University summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Smith’s  has a 19 year executive career in government and higher education. 

After the episode be sure to check out bepreppy.com for more resources on sexual assault.  April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  Check your campus calendar and participate in events to learn more.  

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Episode Resources

Dr. Penny Smith

Book:  The Second Woman Bible Study: Healing from Intimate Partner Violence and Post-Abortion Grief

Website:  http://www.alegriatek.com/ 

Email: [email protected] 

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Sexual Assault Support

If this podcast triggers any experiences please speak with someone at your school’s counseling center or a licensed therapist in your community.  You can also call the National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673, or access RAINN’s online chat service https://www.rainn.org/get-help. 

 In this episode we focus on love! Why? Because Valentine's Day is near and that’s when love is on steroids.  Love can make you do crazy things, especially in college.  It can bring out the worst or bring out the best in you. It can have you all happy one minute or stressed out the next.  Some people come to college to find their one true love.  But who is your one true love?  Well, you don’t know our guest and chances are she doesn’t know you but she’s going to tell you who’s DM’s to slide in, who you should ask out, and who you should swipe right on.  She is Domonique Washington, author of Ever After Happily. She is a motivational speaker, teacher, and Pastor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  She has been so transparent in her journey to find love that she is the perfect person to talk about healthy relationships and finding your one true love.  After the episode, tell us what you think. Hit us up on Instagram or Twitter.  We’d love to hear from you!  Happy listening! 

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EPISODE RESOURCES

Domonique Washington

Website: www.pastordomonique.com

Instagram: @pastordomonique

Youtube: Domonique S. Washington

Purchase: Ever After Happily: The Fairy Tale Begins and Ends with You at Amazon.com 

Be Preppy & Dr. Erin

Purchase: Geaux Wiser: Secrets to College Success at Amazon.com

Follow Be Preppy on Instagram and Twitter: @bepreppyllc

In this episode, we to speak to Dr. Walter Kimbrough. He's the author of  Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities.  He has long been a respected leader in Higher Education. In fact, he became a college president by the time he was 37.  His non-traditional entry into presidency, his ability to relate to students and his study of popular culture, has earned him the name of the Hip Hop Prez.  He is currently the president of Dillard University, a private, Historically Black University in New Orleans, Louisiana.  His research on HBCUs, fraternities and sororities, and African American males make him the perfect guest for our spotlight on African Americans in Higher Education.  I hope that this episode is a treat to you as it was to me.  Happy Listening! 

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Episode Resources

Dr. Walter Kimbrough

Be Preppy College Coaching 

Dr. Erin Wheeler 

 1799 is the first record of an African American attending an American University or college.  By 1900 2000 African Americans had Higher Education degrees of which ONLY 390 received degrees from white institutions and there were 78 black colleges established by this time.  In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled to abolish racial segregation in schools. Currently, there are approximately 2.5 million African American students enrolled in higher education .  While this number is a far cry from the enrollment in 1900, there should be millions more of African American enrolling in higher education programs.  As we make-up only 15% of the total college population. While we don’t have the barriers that our ancestors had, minority students still face challenges in acceptance and assimilations on campus, in our community and in our home.  Although there are millions of African Americans in college, many students are 1st-generation students where being in college and graduating from college is rare or non-existent.  Being a minority and the 1st to go to college is a unique experience that is hard to describe.  But at the core of the issue is identity. While all students go to college to explore and discover who they are, minority students have more layers to peel before they get to understand, accept and love their authentic selves. 

In this episode we explore the topic of finding your identity as a minority student.  On this episode you’ll hear three voices and three perspectives: my own, an African American woman and college graduate, Co-host and Preppy’s Intern Maggy, a Latina woman and college graduate, and our guest, Cedric Dent, Jr.. an African American male college student.  We are all 1st-generation, low-income, minority students.  If you’ve been listening you know about Maggy and I.  Let me introduce you to our guest. 

Cedric Dent Jr is a proud senior at my alma mater Southeastern Louisiana University and is pursuing a degree in Social Work. Cedric was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana by a single mother. Cedric has been actively involved on campus as an Orientation leader, Peer Mentor, member of the NAACP, leader of the Student Government Association, and President of Kappa Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Cedric was recently crowned the 2018-2019 Homecoming King. Cedric is a Senior Social Work Major and is consistently on the Dean’s List. He has recently authored his first book, "Searching for Purpose and Understanding: Fulfilling Your Purpose in Life" 

This is one of our longer episodes but only because the conversation was really great we couldn’t bear to cut anything.  We would love to hear your feedback and your personal experiences in finding your identity.  Be sure to send us your thoughts on Twitter or Instagram @bepreppyllc.  Happy Listening! 

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Episode Resources

Cedric Dent, Jr.

Maggy Murillo, Co-Host

Dr. Erin Wheeler, Host

On our last episode, we talked about reflection after the conclusion of the fall semester.  The conclusion of the fall semester signals the holidays and new resolutions.  Besides being optimistic about the new semester as a student, you may be excited about personally starting over in the new year.  You may have, well you should have, goals that you are setting for yourself.  I am not big on new year resolutions.  They seem to only stick around for January and February.  Instead, I prefer to set attainable goals year round.  Knowing how to set goals and   to create a plan to reach them without external motivation or external advice is a critical skill for college and personal success.  Goals help move your life forward and prevent you from becoming stagnant.  Take it from an old 30 something, stagnation leads to unhappiness...and you don’t want to waste your good 20’s being unhappy.  This episode is dedicated to helping you set real goals and attained them.  We’ll discuss SMART goals, the types of goals you should consider, how to put an action plan together, and how to identify and block goal killers.  

Episode Resources: 

Goal Setting Worksheets: https://www.bepreppy.com/goalsetting/ 

Register for a free coaching session: www.bepreppy.com/coaching

Join the conversation on Instagram and Twitter: @bepreppyllc