Debbry Mburu is a senior at Salisbury majoring in international business and marketing. The Kenya-born and Balitimore-bred student leader is the president of Salisbury University’s Black Student Union (BSU) which works to amplify and advocate for Salisbury’s Black student community.
Mburu said Salisbury wasn’t her first choice, “…but it was the choice I’m happy I made.” Her Campus met with Mburu to see how she cultivated her leadership skills and worked to make the best out of her college experience.
Photo courtesy of Shaylin Wallace.
Mburu’s family life played a important role in creating her sense of self. Growing up as an Kenyan immigrant in Essex, Baltimore County allowed her to view blackness through different lenses.
Her upbringing was traditional and immersed in Kikuyu culture but Mburu said she knew that in order to understand the world around her, she couldn’t rely solely on tradition.
“We told [our mom] she can’t raise us the way she was raised,” Mburu said.
Mburu took her multiple perspectives with her to college and found a new platform within the BSU. She started to attend meetings from the start of her freshman year and immediately immersed herself in the organization.
“I went to most of their meetings and [during] sophomore year, I went to all of their meetings,” she said. “My junior year, before I traveled abroad, I was [elected] vice president, and it just kind of made sense for me to move up to president.”
School is demanding on its own, but Mburu said being a member of an executive board is worth the effort. Seeing more Black students become more passionate about social justice only works to motivate her.
“I’ve even had other people ask me about when I’m choosing the new board,” she said. “To see new faces, fresh faces, [become] as empowered as I was before I got into [BSU] makes it worth it because I know that once I leave, it won’t stop.”
Salisbury’s Black population is noticeably larger since Mburu’s freshman year and she finds it amazing. She thinks her position as a Black student leader has increased in importance.
“[Although] this is a PWI (predominately white institution), their voices still can be heard and there are so many different degrees of doing it, whether you are on SGA (the Student Government Association), the BSU president, or somewhere in between, you can influence so much on this campus,” she said.
Experiences outside of school, ranging from staying informed through the news, to even studying abroad in France, helped Mburu shape her worldview and understand complex perspectives.
“Hearing about the different things Black people go through, not just in Salisbury, but also injustices in Baltimore like the Baltimore riots and the Black Lives Matter campaign; all of these [events] have shaped the person I am,” she said.
“Even with me not being from the U.S. and seeing things happen here and back in my country, I know that something has to be done about it and if not me, then who?”
Mburu in Grenoble, France. Photo courtesy of Debbry Mburu.
Grenoble is a predominately white city in southeastern France, but Mburu said she was fascinated by the how the small immigrant population, specifically persons from Africa, worked to retain their own culture while navigating France.
“Even there, they had a lot of West African influences because Congolese people are mostly French-speaking and there was a great Congolese population. Just seeing them, how rich their culture was in a mostly white area in France was just amazing, ” Mburu said. “It influenced me to continue on with improving the knowledge of both cultures I come from.”
“Here you become Americanized so quickly because you’re forced to speak English, but they spoke French and their native languages. When I talked to people from North Africa, they continued to speak Arabic and keep their culture strong.”
Mburu’s extra-curricular involvement isn’t limited to the BSU. She also is a member of Marketing Execellence (she recently won a competition), an orientation leader, a former Resident Assistant, and former member of the POMS dance team, as well as the Salisbury University Dance Company.
Mburu pictured with Sierra Little. Photo courtesy of Debbry Mburu.
Mburu said she realized she didn’t want to just be a student who went to class and her dorm when her sister graduated from Salisbury.
“It was time to make college what I wanted, so getting involved in so many things sets me up for success,” Mburu said. “I am able to take a lot more responsibility and opportunities, honestly because I know how much I can push myself and how much I can take… and it is all worth it.”