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Our Story
Learn more about our Mission & Vision
Black Girls Graduate aims to be the first place black girls look for campus, career, and finance resources.
As graduation neared, Ashley Obasi began reflecting on the past four years of college. She realized if she had known what she knew now, four years ago, things might have gone more smoothly. Searching the internet, she began to look for advice on what to do next, but seldom found women who looked like her in the position she dreamed of landing. Thus, BlackGirlsGraduate was born. Enlisting the help of her sister Ije and close friend Tikkara, they began to set out on a journey to provide a resource that would generate content specifically geared towards the success of black girls.
Our Mission: Black Girls Graduate (BGG) is an online resource dedicated to inspire and empower black women to change the narrative we see in media; advocating for educational attainment and professional careers within our community.
Our Vision: We envision BGG as a resource that helps provide opportunities for black women to be equally empowered to achieve in higher education, career advancement, and economic security. Women of color, especially those of low socioeconomic status, have limited access to insight, guidance, and perspective from successful, high-achieving young professionals who look like us. To help with this initiative we profile African American women who exemplify excellence within their field of expertise. It is by seeing women who look like us in these leading roles that dreams become more tangible and the journey that can get us there becomes more realistic.
Black Girls Graduate Focuses On:
Pathways to a Career
Navigating the Post-Graduate System
Career Strategies
Closing the Opportunity Gap
Meet the Team
As a Chicago native, Ashley is one who represents her hometown proudly. Born a creative spirit & with a passion for problem solving, she knew there was something unusual about herself that made her stand out from her peers. She’s dedicated her life’s work to diversity, equity and inclusion, striving to make an impact on the lives of others. Ashley studied Public Relations at Syracuse University. She’s combined her relationship management skills and love for technology as an Account Manager at an Enterprise software company. When she’s not binge photoshopping, catching up on the latest tech innovations, or parlaying at a women’s conference, you will find her pouring her soul into her love child: BlackGirlsGraduate.
Ijeamaka describes her life’s work and interest as social responsibility, social change and social enterprise. She continuously seeks innovative solutions to closing the opportunity gap and increasing equity in communities. She has always been passionate about children and has volunteered at schools in rural Ghana and West Philadelphia. But she learned most about the challenges of the education system when she joined Teach for America and taught 6th grade mathematics in southwest Houston. There she realized there was much to be addressed before students even entered the classroom. She is now a practicing attorney in corporate banking and finance law. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority Incorporated!
Donate
Thank you in advance for your generosity. Your donation helps Black Girls Graduate fulfill our mission to create an online resource that connects black women to career opportunities. Your donation supports our commitment to provide campus, career, and finance resources complimentary to the 50,000 community members in our network! It also supports our stipend-based internship program. Together we can make an even greater impact. Please use the PayPal link below for all monetary donations!
