Alumni Stories: Tierney, Class of ‘25
What inspired you to choose Tuskegee University?
I'm from Memphis, Tennessee, and I knew I wanted to go to a HBCU. My mom graduated from Lane College. I knew I was gonna go to a HBCU, but when I found out my my Paw Paw — that's my great-grandfather — went to Tuskegee, I was like, "Oh, I'm finna go." You know, Covid was a different time. So I actually sent an application video in, and I told them, like, "Yeah, y'all have to give me a full ride." I had a strong GPA. I had strong leadership, but test taking wasn't my biggest thing. So I sent the video and I was like, "Tuskegee, you all gonna be disappointed. Like bringing 'em in." So they gave me the University Merit scholarship that took care of my tuition. I used outside scholarships for housing and the Pell grant. And yeah, that's how I got there. Like when I found out he went, it was just no question.
How have you transformed the most by having gone to Tuskegee?
So over my four years, everything changed for me. Just seeing how big the world was. Tuskegee gave me my passport. Tuskegee showed me all different walks of — different types of people. Not even just Black people, just different types of people. Made me see people beyond their race and where they're from because I grew up in Memphis. Honestly, I'm not gonna say everybody linear in Memphis, but, it was just different. I wouldn't call it a breath of fresh air. It just gave me an opportunity. Like, I'm going to different conferences, won Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and then just even seeing the real, true power of my potential. Like, I always got pulled into leadership roles and just sponsorship opportunities, and then after graduating, it really taught me that I am okay to go into any space. Like, if you make it into ski, you truly can make it anywhere.