De’Kliah Kelly, a sophomore from Chattanooga, is an Honors-in-Discipline in History student with a second major in anthropology. Kelly applied to a number of schools, but the tipping points that led her to choose ETSU were its classical studies minor and its Summer Bridge Program, which provides incoming African American, Hispanic and Native American students a solid foundation before they start their freshman year. After taking advantage of tutoring services provided through TRIO Programs at ETSU, as well as earning the 2020 Tennessee TRIO Adult-Learner Academic Scholarship, she now serves fellow students as a tutor herself. She is also a resident assistant (RA) for Governors Hall, an Expedition Leader and Quest Leader, and has also participated in the Brenda White Wright Emerging Leaders and Inspire Living-Learning Community programs. In her spare time, she enjoys writing poetry and short stories, drawing, and playing video games.
What is something unexpected you’ve learned during your time at ETSU?
I could say it was kind of unexpected how quickly I learned about a bunch of cool things on campus. The Summer Bridge Program actually opened up the door for many opportunities for me. I remember them showing us the TRIO Program, which I’m sure I wouldn’t have known about had I not gone to Summer Bridge. I immediately applied and talked with TRIO. And then I remember sometime after the program that one of the leaders of the program had recommended me for the Leadership Academy. And so I got to have both that experience and TRIO, where I had tutoring, which helped keep me afloat. It also opened the door for knowing about different clubs and associations.
Which of the programs you’ve been involved in has been the most impactful on you, and why?
I would say TRIO, actually. I did not really know all about TRIO. I was told, after I got in that there were programs for middle and high school kids that were like TRIO, but I had no idea, so it was a new kind of resource that was open to me. But besides being able to go there for tutoring, honestly, I visited there a lot of the time just to talk to the people who were at TRIO. They would listen and check in with me, and see how I was doing. I could go there and feel like I was actually being heard. So outside of tutoring – support for my academics – they also give support to me as a person. I definitely owe a lot to TRIO.
What first sparked your passion for leadership?
It was something I realized I needed to work on. As I was doing Summer Bridge, I didn’t know how to talk to anyone there, even though it’s in a residence hall with a bunch of other peers that I could be making friendships and connections with. I wasn’t doing it. So when I got recommended for the Leadership Academy, I thought this is probably a good opportunity for me to actually work on that – on how introverted I am and how shy I am. I needed to learn to go out and just be more outgoing. It’s like anything else – you have to learn those kinds of skills, and that’s just something that I felt like was very important to do, especially considering this is a college environment where we can build friendships and connections. We’re here for four years, and I can’t just stay in my room all day and ignore everyone and try to do my work. That really won’t work for me in the long run. And people talk about how you’ll want to stay on campus and you’ll like it more if you actually have commitments. So I needed to just get out of my shell and do those kinds of things.
Why did you choose history and anthropology as your majors and classical studies as your minor?
I wanted to go to school to major in classics, because I just like knowing about the history of ancient Greece and ancient Rome and learning about languages, like Greek and Latin. The issue with that is that it’s not a very widespread major. I was happy enough that ETSU had a minor that corresponded to that, and I just kind of molded my interests into what was available. I ended up going with history because it’s just like a broader version of that. Then, after a while, I realized that anthropology, the study of humans, coincides with history, so I felt like it was only natural to add that as a major, because I knew I wanted to double-major.
What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
My big goal now is to go to graduate school and get my master’s, and then work as a historian, a museum curator or a history professor. Any of those would be fun, but I’m probably leaning toward the idea of being a historian because I like the idea of traveling and sharing my research. I would like to see those cultures that I talked about before, and I just like to travel and see things firsthand. That’s a whole different experience from looking at things online and checking out museums.