I had the opportunity to sit down and meet Asha Abdul-Mujeeb, a PR student here at A&T. Not only was she a delightful person to talk to, but she also has big things that she is working on: her platform ‘Everyday Aggies”, personal projects, and unique visions. I find Asha to be one of my many inspirational human beings on earth. I appreciate her taking time to sit down and talk with me!
Q: Could you please state your name, where you are from, and your major?
A: My name is Asha Abdul-Mujeeb. I am from Los Angeles,California and I am double majoring in Public Relations and Africa American studies here at North Carolina Agricultural State University (NCAT).
Q: What brought you to NCAT (A&T)?
A: When I was going through the transfer process because I am a transfer student, I had a family member from South Carolina, and he kept pushing for A&T. He knew I wanted to go to another institution, and he told me that A&T was kind of nearby. He said that it was still on the east coast and it was in between the east and the south and that I would still get that east coast vibe with the southern hospitality feel. The benefits of being close to the east coast is that I do want to pursue my master’s up north in New York and I can visit my best friend that goes to Cornell University, so it good to have someone I know over here. A&T has a good PR program, it’s close to N.Y, as well as the east coast vibes and southern hospitality was the essential reasons that brought me to A&T.
Q: What is “Everyday Aggies”? What inspired you to make “Everyday Aggies”?
A: Everyday Aggies is a social media presence here at A&T. The background story to that is I was really depressed as a transfer student and back home I had created content for smaller business. I ran their social media pages, I did photoshoots, basically I created Instagram pages. Then as I came to school, I stopped doing that and told myself that I need to focus on my studies. I was at a University now and It was different from a community college, so I made sure I had to get everything together. Once I got here, I didn’t know anyone, the environment was new, and I didn’t have a creative outlet. So as a way to make myself feel like a home away from home I started to create content. I love HBCU’s, I love the experience as well as what HBCU’s do for black students. I saw that there was a lack of good content for HBCU’s on social media platforms, so I decided to take my skills and resources and bring it to A&T. As students, we want to see things that we like and a good representation of our school.
Q: Where do you see yourself after Graduation?
A: I do want to pursue my master’s, but I do want to work for a company that pay for my master’s or if I can get a scholarship for my master’s, I would like that as well. Now Career wise, I want to create content for a person of color’s company. Whether it’s a magazine, film, or music company. I just want to create content for people of color, especially black people. That’s just always been something on my heart. Growing up in south central L.A., I came from a family that was well educated but at the same time we were living amongst people who weren’t well educated. So, having that experience in seeing just the roughness and that there’s so much beauty and It’s hidden by bad press, stereotypes, and stigmas. It’s unseen beauty because we aren’t the narrators of our stories. My whole phrase for the year is “changing the way people view black stories”.
Q: What is a Content Creator?
A: Someone who takes a simple idea, builds on it, nourishes it, invests in it, and then it becomes a great idea. Then they share it with others!
Q: Do you have any advice for any future Content Creators?
A: My advice to future content creators is to understand that No’s are just Yes’s in the making and that L’s are just wins delayed because in this world you will get told “No” so many times. I recently just got denied from an internship and I was like okay I’m at this point in my life where I understand what that means, and I understand my worth. Or, maybe I’m just not ready for it yet. I understand that I am still a content creator and that I am still creating good content. Just because it’s not what they are looking for right now doesn’t affect me in any way. There are other opportunities out there for me. The L’s and the No’s are going to hurt, but just light a candle, get you glass of wine, and apply for something else. What is meant for you, is meant for you and its life. Get used to “No’s” and don’t let it stop you from pursuing!
Q: How do you remain so optimistic?
A: I’ve been through a lot and I had to face a lot of sugar honey iced tea. It made me realize that these things I am facing now, a lot of them don’t compare to what I’ve been through. It’s like if I can get through that, I know I can get through this. Like this “No”, or this class that I didn’t get, or this “F” I got it does not 1) determine who I am as a person. Also, understand your worth and your value. I feel like when you when you are confident in who you are right now as a person, you don’t allow things to come into your space and effect you negatively because you know that you serve a greater purpose. It’s like you can’t let sugar honey iced tea mess with your energy. If it won’t matter in five years, don’t let it matter for five minutes. You just have to get into a space where you are confident with who you are and this place and time. Once you understand you serve a bigger goal, the little things don’t matter anymore. Just make sure that your self-care and mental health is in check and also have a good support system
Be sure to follow her and her social media handles!
Instagram & Twitter: @Everydayaggies @laythemedgeslayton