What made you want to become an IBCLC?

I love working with pediatric patients. Within the past few years my love of OB has grown. I love taking care of newborns and helping the mothers learn how to care for their children. Recently, my love of helping new mothers learn how to breastfeed their children has grown even more than I could have ever imagined. Seeing our lactation consultants help the mothers breastfeed or pump has given me a perspective that there are lots of mothers who truly want to breastfeed, but have no idea of where to start and how to keep going. This is where I believe I can help.

How do you hope to make a difference as an IBCLC?

I hope to be able to not only help African Americans like myself, but other races and ethnicities to be able to breastfeed their children if the desire is there. I know that breastfeeding is usually a taboo subject when it comes to the black community and I'm hoping to be able to dispel that. My job is to help anyone and everyone achieve their goals no matter their skin color or background from whence they come.

 
Why is winning Pacify's Diversity in Lactation Scholarship is meaningful to you?

Winning this scholarship is very meaningful for me as it gives me the resources to be able to complete a goal that I have had for myself for quite some time. I am always helping others and find it hard to find the time, energy, or effort to help myself. This scholarship helps with the financial burden of completing my goal in life. I have always put my finances towards my family first and never really saw the need to use money that "isn't necessary" towards something that I wanted instead. Now I have the chance to do both.