Senior Raven Bankhead has striven to get involved on campus; she is passionate about mentorship and implements that into her involvement on campus.
Bankhead is currently the president of Reaching Every Adolescent Lady, Building and Enhancing Attitudes, Uniting Today’s Youth, otherwise known as R.E.A.L. B.E.A.U.T.Y. The goal of this organization is to give all girls a place to feel safe and never feel like they are alone. While the club unites girls on campus, they also are involved with the local community.
“Off campus, we go out into our communities, and we go talk to adolescent ladies, aging from nine to 19,” Bankhead said. “We instill in them their own confidence. We know how big social media is now, so we’re real big on media desensitization.”
She further explained that it is important for girls of all ages to know that social media is not always real. People must learn at a young age to not let social media have a negative effect on them or their self-esteem.
Through R.E.A.L. B.E.A.U.T.Y., Bankhead has not only helped others but also helped herself. She joined her freshmen year at UCA and has been an avid member since.
“It was the club I was most active in. The girls that were in it my freshmen year were very, very welcoming,” Bankhead said. “I had someone I could ask all my questions to, and they never made me feel alone. If you’re stuck, you always have someone to talk to.”
The Minority Mentorship Program is another organization Bankhead contributes time to. The upperclassmen in the program get paired with freshmen; it is their responsibility to act as a mentor and guide the younger students.
“My mentor was very good to me; when we first started out, we became very close friends,” Bankhead said. “I really like what the organization did. I didn’t become a mentor until my junior year, but I always went to programs.”
Organizations like MMP are important, especially at predominantly white institutions because they give people within minorities a safe space.
“With being at a PWI, being a part of a mostly Black organization made me feel really comfortable,” Bankhead said.
Greek life is also a big part of Bankhead’s time. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Being a part of this sorority is important to Bankhead because it is a tradition within her family and has impacted her since she was a child. It acts as an outlet for her to do the things she loves, such as helping those around her.
“I have always been a community service girl, but it is harder to find out how to do community service on your own,” Bankhead said. “Joining a sorority kinda gave me that outlet because community service opportunities come up all the time.”
Helping others and being involved on campus has made Bankhead get to know herself better.
“My mentees might feel like I’m just helping them all the time, but they really help me,” Bankhead said. “My mentees help me figure out a lot about myself, and my organizations helped me figure out a lot about myself.”
As an elementary education major, Bankhead’s goal is to continue her passion for mentorship by being a kindergarten teacher and eventually opening a day care center.
