- High School: Pioneer High School (Graduated June 2017)
- College: Michigan State University (Expected Graduation May 2021)
- Undergraduate Major: Journalism
Dea joined Girls Group when she was a freshman in high school. A friend told her about it and suggested that she join. Immediately, Dea enjoyed the friendliness of the mentors and other participants and enjoyed the conversations that they had about self care and achieving goals. Dea has said that one of the biggest takeaways that she’s gotten from her time in Girls Group is her knowledge of networking, including the importance of networking and the overall steps to achieving a great network relationship.
While in Girls Group, Dea participated in a wide range of programs and activities including Women of Purpose, Wraparound, Young Women for Change, College and Career Prep, youth to youth mentoring, benefit concerts, leadership council, POP-X, NPR with the founder of Girls Group, Sue, and most recently, she hosted the 2020 Girls Group annual fundraiser event. Additionally, Dea shared that one of the best experiences in her life came when she joined several Girls Group mentors at the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C. where they marched for women’s equality and even got her picture taken for Yahoo Style.
Dea shared that she faced challenges when she began applying for college and Girls Group was able to help guide her through the application process. Dea decided to attend Michigan State University to pursue a career in journalism. Her goals for her freshman year in college were to maintain a high GPA and make some positive network connections. Through her hard work and continued support through Women of Purpose, Dea achieved her goals by getting a 4.0 GPA and becoming a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
With the onset of the coronavirus, Dea has shifted to a virtual format for all of her classes and extracurriculars for her final year of college. While it has been difficult, and she has struggled with everything being less interactive with others, she has been able to cope with the uncertain times by being more consistent with checking emails and setting reminders on her phone and in her planner.
Dea is focused on completing her degree at Michigan State and graduating in the spring of 2021. She has shared that her goals are to continue being successful in her classes and to finish the year out strong so that she can show her family that she achieved her degree. She plans to achieve these goals by submitting assignments on time, asking her professors for Zoom office hours when needed, and maintaining good communication with a handful of her classmates and professors. Dea shared that she “deeply appreciates Girls Group for supporting her academic journey” and that she is “extremely grateful to be a part of such an amazing organization”.