This Q&A is part of the story series Voices of Drake that highlights the diversity, ambition, and passion of the incredible people who make up our campus community. In recognition and celebration of Black History Month, we will be sharing a collection of interviews to spotlight Black voices in our community. This week’s story highlights Drake senior, student-athlete Savannah Kelani Ming.
Tell us about yourself.
I am Savannah Kelani Ming, senior, student-athlete. I’m from North Aurora, Illinois, and at home are my Mom, Dad, and husky-German shepherd, Nova. I have six half siblings that are much older than me and all over the world, but we check in over social media, phone, and when we fly out to visit each other. I’ve been running track and field for 15 years, and have been the team captain for women’s sprints for two years. Outside of my sport, I am the president of the Phi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and vice president of Drake’s National Pan-Hellenic Council. I’m a double major in Psychology and Rhetoric, Media, and Social Change, with a minor in Business Management and a concentration in Human Resources. My commitment to my studies, my sport, community service, and leadership takes up a ton of my time, but I really wouldn’t have things any other way.
What does Black History Month mean to you?
To be Black encapsulates so much more than our category of skin color. To be Black is to have pride. To be Black is to have familiarity. To be Black, unapologetically, is to know your worth and wear it without contrition.
Black History Month serves as a designated time for each and every one of us, regardless of if you are a part of the Black community or not, to celebrate the beauty, excellence, and influence that our culture brings with the world. I am proud to be Black not only because the Black experience is beautifully unique, but more so because every element of our Blackness is constantly discussed, mimicked, and insulted. To be Us in our natural form is a protest to every law that once stood or still stands to tell us it’s unprofessional, unsightly, or unwanted. We could shrivel up and cower in the belief that who we are naturally is undeserving of love and respect. Nevertheless, every single day, we choose to stand tall and stand against those who seek to minimize and diminish us. I find comfort in knowing that there are millions of people in the world that I can relate to—our taste, upbringings, traditions, humor, history, and more. It is an underlying, subconscious link that allows us to connect in ways that often cannot be understood by those outside of the connection. Having never even met before or living thousands of miles away from each other has no true impact on the vigor of the bond within the community.
Why did you choose to attend Drake?
I chose to attend Drake for two reasons: The flexibility and amount of control I was offered in my education, and Drake Track & Field. I asked many questions when speaking to the advisor who recruited me to come to Drake, mostly about how my courses would look, how many subjects or majors I could study, and what autonomy over my courses looked like. I’ve always loved to learn, and I’m ever searching for new things to know about. Upon choosing to come to Drake, my plan was to study business and psychology. Now that nearing the end of my time here at Drake, I’ve had the opportunity to accomplish that and so much more. The ability to have the mix of degrees and subject matter that I have now is genuinely everything I planned for as a senior in high school.
As for Drake Track and Field, I had other options on where I wanted to choose to commit to continue my athletic career, but Drake stood out for a couple of reasons. As Drake hosts a Division 1 program, that was a big element in my consideration. The coach who recruited me to come here, Asha Gibson, was very adamant in ensuring that I felt very supported, comfortable, and safe at Drake, and that my parents felt these same sentiments in sending me here.
What is your favorite thing about Drake?
My favorite thing about Drake is the sense of community. At times, the small campus and small class sizes can feel monotonous, but the lovely part about both of those factors at Drake is that you really get to know those around you. We call this campus the “Drake Bubble” for a reason- what happens at Drake feels simultaneously so similar but so unique to other collegiate campus experiences. Through the good and the bad, we are all connected, and that can make for such a distinct experience.
In what ways have you grown since coming to Drake?
Whew. Throughout college, I have evolved into such a different version of myself than I was on August 21, 2021, when I stepped into my Freshman dorm during Crew move-in. Getting to know myself and what works and doesn’t work in my habits have been some of the best learning experiences here at Drake. I think I was always self- assured, but I have often let others take advantage of my generosity and forgiveness. In the last couple years, however, I have found ways to strike a balance more effectively between the care I give others, and the care I bestow upon myself. Toward others, I enjoy helping my friends and peers, giving advice, and doing acts of service. For myself, I make sure to keep a routine, do hobbies and activities that bring me joy, and take every day as an opportunity to learn more about how to be the best version of me that I can.
What do you hope to do after you graduate?
I intend to attend graduate school and earn my master’s in industrial/organizational psychology. I hope to work as either a business management consultant or an organizational behavior specialist while obtaining my graduate degree.
Who has been some of your important mentors during your time at Drake?
I’ve had quite a few! To begin my career at Drake, I was accepted into the Crew Scholars program. I feel that without my Crew peers and mentors, I would not have been anywhere near as happy and successful as I have been in my time here. Namely, Director of Crew Scholars, Jazlin Coley, Dr. Terrance Pendleton, and Professor Heath Henderson. Outside of Crew Scholars, I have had numerous professors that have positively impacted and influenced my college experience. Dr. Claire Muselman and Professor Faber McAlister have both, in their own ways, reinforced within me so much confidence in my abilities. Both have always encouraged me to reach higher and higher in my achievements, and never strayed away from celebrating my wins, even when I couldn’t.
Are you involved in any student organizations, groups, or community service work? Tell us about those experiences.
Within our work in Delta Sigma Theta, we partner with and donate to several groups and organizations working toward serving the communities of and surrounding our dual campuses of Phi Chapter—Drake and Iowa State. We’ve worked with and donated to The Genesis Foundation, NAMI Iowa, Ellipsis Iowa, and more. Outside of my work within NPHC/ Greek Life and Crew Scholars, I am also a member of The Green Bandana Project which fights to de-stigmatize mental health struggles and stories, and fights for suicide prevention.
What do you hope is accomplished during the month of celebration and recognition?
I hope that during this month, we can acknowledge the achievements that make the Black community so revered and influential with certainty. There are people in this world that truly do believe that the oppression, microaggressions, seclusion, and violence we face are exaggerated or even entirely fabricated. There is constant and ever growing questioning, erasure, and demonization of our history and the laws that have helped us to reach towards equity and equality, I love to use Black History Month as a time to unashamedly express how proud I am of everything we’ve achieved, in spite of those who do not believe how much harder we have to work to obtain those achievements. My hope is that if we continue to loudly celebrate our work, and realistically depict the complex roads by which we travel towards success, more people will join in to celebrate with us.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life, and what lessons did that person teach you?
My biggest influences are genuinely my parents. Both are just so unique in their own way from literally anyone else I have ever met. My mom is incredibly hardworking, diligent, and poised. She is my Soror and has been an attorney for over 30 years. She spent 25 of those year working in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office as Special Assistant Attorney General, and in the last five years or so has worked as Hearing Officer for the Board of Appeals of the Illinois Dept of Revenue. My mom amazes me in so many ways. I have yet to meet anyone so resilient, driven, or focused as her. We bump heads at times because of how similar we are in temperament, but I have never been embarrassed to say that I act like my mom. She’s assertive, direct, but compassionate, and I try to emulate all the same.
My Dad is truly the most laid back, calm, and confident person I know. I have only seen or heard his raise his voice maybe six or seven times in my entire life. He says at least once a day to my mom and I, “Don’t worry. Everything will be just fine.” My dad was born and raised in Bermuda and ran track just like me in his 20s. After competing in the Commonwealth Games, he was scouted and switched to American Football and later was drafted as First Round Draft Pick Running Back for the New York Giants.
They’re both confident, accomplished, and refuse to allow anyone to diminish their accomplishments. As Black people in the United States, they’ve experience adversities that I probably will never even know of. But they find ways to stand up and ensure that I feel pride in where I’ve come from, and in who I am.
How do you like to spend your free time? Tell us about your hobbies and interests.
When I’m not busy, I cook, paint, play piano, spend time with my friends and family, and make cute little tea and coffee drinks in my apartment. I’m a huge coffee nerd, and I could probably write a dissertation at this point on the science of roasting, brewing, and drink making. I greatly enjoy creating things—I have some digital projects like movie and album posters, recipe books, and menus for decor in my room, use in my kitchen, or gifts for my friends. I also like making physical items like sculptures and pottery. I’m extremely sociable and extroverted, so I spend a lot of my time hanging out with my loved ones and going on little outings to my favorite Des Moines shops and cafes. Also, I *hate* monotony, so I would consider one of my hobbies just ‘trying new things’. New foods, events, spaces, experiences, etc., keep me occupied and excited about the next big thing.
What advice would you like to give to a student thinking about coming to Drake next year?
Give yourself grace to evolve and go through changes. College is a place in which you learn so much about what makes you, you. Finding out how to function under rigorous academic pressure, without frequent check-ins or supervision from your parents or guardians, plus choosing how to manage your time properly and what to spend it on with hundreds of options to choose from is not at all easy. However, it is a great setup for growing and learning more about yourself and the best practices to be successful.
Giving yourself grace is more than what you heard about just “accepting mistakes as opportunities to try again.” While that is one part, the bigger part of giving yourself grace is knowing when to forgive and give yourself understanding. We as a people do a lot of bending and shaping ourselves into being what we think we should be, or what others tell us to be. So long as the salient elements of you—your behavior, emotions, personality, etc.—the things that come naturally, aren’t negatively or intentionally hurting anyone else, you have the right to be confident in what makes you unique.