Over the summer, Thyrah struggled with her mental health as her household became toxic. She was also deeply affected by the increased attention to police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. In her story she shares how for her, “college is an escape.”

Dane’t had to overcome so many obstacles to get to college. Her passion for basketball kept her going. It was all going so well. Then the pandemic arrived. With basketball on hold and without a complete financial aid package, Dane’t started to question if she belonged in college. But she found a new way to motivate herself: she was determined to make her mom proud.