Hey everyone! This blog post will be a bit personal as I would like to share my experience of transitioning from an HBCU to a PWI. For those who are unaware of what these acronyms mean, this piece will be educational. To being, “HBCU” is formally known as Historically Black Colleges and Universities or a Historically Black College and University. “PWI” is formally known as Predominantly White Institutions or a Predominantly White Institution. To begin, let me introduce myself. I am Elisabeth Bellevue, a second-year graduate student at George Washington University studying the Master of Arts in Media & Strategic Communication. As mentioned before, I was previously an HBCU student. I received my Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication with a minor in Black Studies and Pre-Law at the Nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1854. I am a proud Lion and alumna of an institution that was created to educate Black people from all over the African diaspora.

I would like to point out that in Washington, D.C., there are two HBCUs. Howard University and University of the District of Columbia. It is imperative to understand the history behind these institutions as many influential people in American and world history are products of them. For example, we can start off by acknowledging Vice President Kamala Harris who is a 1986 graduate of Howard University. Not only is Howard the Alma mater of Vice President Harris, but also the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall’s. Thurgood. And to further note, Thurgood Marshall is also a graduate of my undergraduate school, Lincoln University.

Now that you have a bit of historical context on HBCUs, I’d like to share my experience transitioning from a Black institution to George Washington University. To be clear, I have been enjoying my time here at GW since my arrival in August of last year. I believe my program, this university, and the location has all contributed tremendously to the person I am right. George Washington is a great institution and I don’t regret attending. However, transitioning from an HBCU to a PWI which is what GW is was a bit tedious for me. There’s always the question of whether or not HBCUs prepares their students for life after college whether that be in the professional world or advancing their education on a graduate level. I want to say that my Alma mater has 100% prepared me for George Washington. I came into my graduate courses prepared. My HBCU fully equipped me to be the best student and scholar I could be anywhere. Where the issue arouse was finding my balance and not letting Imposter Syndrome get the best of me. There would be times where I at times felt like GW did not have what it takes to cater to my interests as a Black student. To be frank, there is a lack of cultural diversity in the curriculum. I want to be honest about this because this is my experience. I believe it is extremely typical for this lack to happen, especially at a PWI. However, coming to GW, I wanted to ensure that I was able to receive a diverse perspective on what I am currently studying.

But was able to connect with fellow HBCU graduates who both happened to be in my program, one of which I attended the same institution. Having these connections allowed me to adapt to this new environment better because I did not feel like I was alone. I believe GW has a great potential to engage better its HBCU’s outside of just the Minority Serving Institutions scholarship. As a graduate ambassador, I want to encourage more HBCU students to attend George Washington as the education here is worth it.