$1.3 million in Scholarships & Acceptance to 50+ Schools - How did Daya Brown do it? | Ep 12

Daya Brown was accepted to 50 colleges and earned $1.3 Million in Scholarship money during her senior year of high school. Daya ended up choosing Duke University where she is now a freshman student. In episode 12 of Personable, we explore the journey of what led Daya to such an incredible accomplishment. If not obvious already the amazing feat is not the end result of the amount of money she received, the colleges she was accepted to and the university she ended up at but instead the incredible experiences, accomplishments and lessons that she had along the way. 

Background: Daya is the daughter of successful businessman Olu Brown. During her childhood, she was exposed to this lifestyle and it inspired her to think differently from a young age. In her early teenage years, Daya became one of the youngest interns for Warner Studios ever; was accepted as 1 of 25/1000 for a Harvard Debating project; created a podcast the Scholar Social; founded a Production Company called Elom & Co Productions + more! 

Personable is a podcast dedicated to helping listeners become the best they can be by learning from the world’s best in their respective fields. This mission is inspired by my mother, Louise, who encouraged me to become the best version of myself before she passed away from cancer in 2023.

Connect with Harvey:
Harvey's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harveybracken-smith/ 
Harvey's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harveybsmith/
Personable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harveybsmithpodcast_/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JOTYDER6m2FDrlhop4api

My dad's startup: https://www.thedraft.io/
Donate to the charity we have founded in memory of my mum: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/LouLouRacefoiundation?utm_term=PvByaxmdn

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello and welcome to episode 12 of Perstable Today. I am hugely honoured to have Daya Brown. Daya is the daughter of the successful preacher and businessman, olly Brown. She was an intern for Warner Studios, selected as one of 25 out of 1,000 for a Harvard debating project, ran a podcast called the Scholar's Social Project, was the creator of a production brand called Ollinman Co and was able to get into over 50 universities receiving 1.3 million in scholarship money, and is now continuing that path here at Duke University. So thank you so much, daya, for joining me today.

Speaker 2: 0:40

Thank you for having me. It's such a pleasure to be on this platform.

Speaker 1: 0:44

Thank you. I wanted to get started by asking where this all came from. What was your childhood like? How did your inspiration to where you are today?

Speaker 2: 0:54

My childhood was very interesting. I always say that I had. I had a childhood, but I didn't. At the same time, my parents and I had been blessed to be placed in areas where I could learn earlier. I was placed to be in specific spaces that were able to cultivate the idea of having a business and the understanding of what that is like. So I always say that after school, like I always went straight to the church because I am a preacher's daughter and I would sit in church meetings all the time.

Speaker 2: 1:30

But our church meetings were a little bit different because our church specialized in understanding your audience, understanding your congregation, and with that you learned a little bit more about the business side of things. I always learned that it was more than just in church. It was also essentially a business. So I've seen a lot of people come and go. I've seen the trajectory of what having a business can be and what it should not be. So I always say that when I was, you know, should be watching SpongeBob or Nickelodeon, I was sitting in meetings with my parents understanding those things, which is both a blessing and a curse.

Speaker 1: 2:13

What were some of the biggest lessons you think you learned in those early days? Did you really understand what was going on at that time, that you were being influenced to try and learn these things, or was it more just like a subtle, like osmosis thing, where you were just sitting there as little care and things were just sort of going in your mind?

Speaker 2: 2:31

I didn't realize it until much later. Like, don't get me wrong, I understood where I was at that age, right, or in my childhood, but I didn't understand the impact of it until about like my middle school. You know career and. But then that, like everyone always tells you that it would be something one day, right, but I didn't quite understand what things really meant by that until I had to go through that myself. I had to go through the Shroudlin eras, I had to go through the clubs, I had to go through the organizations to understand who I wanted to be and how I wanted to get there. So that's how it was for me. So it's really not a certain. I wouldn't say I understood it in my Shroudlin eras, no, but I do understand it now. And I think one key takeaway that I've learned from this experience and learned from my Shroudlin eras is that I always say like everything only comes when it's time right, everything only comes when the timeline and the alignment is correct. And that's the same with personal in and the business extra.

Speaker 1: 3:43

How did you deal with that as a young child? And imagine with having very successful parents and your dad's preacher. How did you deal with the expectation that would come with that and some people thinking you were a perfect child or having to do everything perfect Because of both the success of your parents alongside this holy and divine connection?

Speaker 2: 4:06

Yeah, for me, oh Jesus I'm thinking about all those times where I was placed in certain experiences Whereas I can't do that, you can't do that I then related back to it's both a blessing and a curse, because it kind of teaches you discernment and it kind of teaches you discipline To understand like, okay, listen, daddy, not be in a certain space right now, that's not good for your look, and I think it's both not in just relation of just my parents background, but just in terms of being like a black woman in America is a certain way that you want to be perceived.

Speaker 2: 4:45

So for me, it really wasn't like this high expectation from specifically my parents. It was more so a high expectation from the congregation and who my parents were connected to, because I always joke around and saying, like you know, I never truly had strict parents. I never did. Of course they would have their moment, but I never was told no when I wanted to do something. I didn't have a curfew, I didn't have any of that. They had trusted me. So the expectations really just came from the public eye and sometimes you really just got to say, hey, you know what this type of senior, that's how you perceive me. I know who I truly am, and that's the best way to get through it.

Speaker 1: 5:27

Do you think having that almost going to call it external pressure from a young age has enabled you in the social media era to sort of generate and curate your image just how you've liked it and you've actually experienced doing something like that? Or you say they're sort of separate things.

Speaker 1: 5:45

So you're asking me specifically like Having the sort of like so all the people looking at you like you should do this, you should do this, you should do this. And now in the social media area where, like, everyone feels like you know, everyone's creating a perfect image, do you think that's helped and drawn parallels between the two, or do you say they're sort of two different?

Speaker 2: 6:07

I think I've had my moments. I think I've had my moments where I sit down and say, hey, you know, this is something that I want to put in a public eye. Is this something that will be accepted? I think that's just straight human nature to question things. Of that question, these are that sense. So, for me, I think being in that public eye kind of helped me in the social media realm, because it's kind of like again, like you know, if you don't accept me, you don't accept me, but this is who I am and this is what I'm choosing to show to the public. So, yeah, I think it helped me. I wouldn't say it hindered me in any way or form, but yeah, that's insane.

Speaker 1: 6:51

I mean you had a very successful path even getting to where you are now. One thing that particularly stood out to me was you were one of the youngest interns ever at Warner Studios. Could you explain a bit about how you got that role, what the process was like and what you did while you were there, Especially being so young?

Speaker 2: 7:10

So when I entered in Warner Media, I did it for like two summers of shadowing at Warner Media and I believe I was in the eighth grade and the ninth grade and I've always been very thankful for the people that my parents have surrounded me with. So one of my mentors used to be the executive producer at Warner Media under A Shell Inn and with that opportunity my parents allowed me to say hey, you know what, Daya? This isn't going back to learning how to network. Hey, Daya, talk to this person, let's see where we can go with that. That's why I entered in Warner Media.

Speaker 2: 7:47

I thought I was going to be a lawyer, so for me it was a little bit different. So once I entered in Warner Media those two summers, I was like whoa, this is something that I need to do, Like, I love the directing, I love the producing, I love being the one in control of the creative process, Because I don't think a lot of people see the creative process. That goes into an excuse. But is there still entertainment? So yeah, for me that it was just really straight out of networking and those were like my earlier stages of networking and I'm still close to that mentor today. She has guided me through every single process since then, provided that eye of the sermon to help me get to where I need to be.

Speaker 1: 8:33

What's the day to day? What was the day to day like in that role?

Speaker 2: 8:36

The day to day in that role is like I think my call time was at 8am because I was still young, so they weren't expecting me to be there like 5am like usual.

Speaker 2: 8:47

So really I worked on the producing sites of things.

Speaker 2: 8:51

So I would get in, I would sit in the newsroom, think of like stories, see what's going on in the news, basically Pitch that to the executive producers and then I would do a lot of shadowing in the newsroom, so seeing how they're going from urgent breaks, seeing how they're swishing from segment to segment, seeing if something needs to change, seeing if something is breaking news. That was kind of like the everyday. And then with that I was blessed to be around college students who are also interning in, hearing their perspective on how they got to where they needed to be, and I think I kind of learned from them because again, I'm a middle school, early high school student at this time and I'm learning to see what steps they took to get into a role like this is like they met me. They're like wait, how are you like learning as they're learning from me? So that was pretty much why every day it was pretty straight to the point and then you clock, you've clocked out at like 5 o'clock and good, that's amazing.

Speaker 1: 9:57

You've also another amazing accomplishment which ties into your later, later feats. You were a member of the go into a Harvard debating project. Could you talk a bit about what that was like and what sort of skills you learned from that?

Speaker 2: 10:12

I think joining the Harvard debate diversity project, that was a turning point for me academically and mentally. Yeah, so, academically and mentally it was a turning point because that program is a steel to stretch. She was now entitled the various Veritas school, but when I was in the program it was entitled the Harvard debate council diversity project. But that program is meant to stretch you in ways that education has never done before. It's meant to stretch you in terms of how you think about what you should be in the world one day. It's meant to question how you see the world. So with that and learning philosophy and theology and rhetoric and the art of debate, I really took those tools with me in my business, in my personal life. Through that program I learned more about myself more than anything, and not just from that business spectrum. I was learning about relationships, I was learning about friendships, I was learning about everything that is in the room of life. That kind of changed my idea and perception of the person that I wanted to become one day.

Speaker 2: 11:26

And I did that program during my sophomore year of high school. I think that was a perfect time to do it, because freshman year I don't think I had the I wouldn't say I didn't have the potential, but I needed to go through some things before I could sign up for a program like this, because it's meant to take all your time. It's meant to say you can't go out on Saturday, can't go out on Sunday because you have homework to do, you have classes that you have to get done while also being a high school student in the COVID pandemic. That was a lot, but it really stretched me in ways I never needed before. I'm very thankful for that opportunity because with that opportunity it really set the stepping stone for what was to come.

Speaker 1: 12:08

Just adding some more context to that. You were one of 25 out of 1,000 kids that got into the program, which is truly exceptional. What I think is very impressive is how you've taken that and the skills that you learned and you managed to transform that into your own podcast called the Scholar Social Podcast. Could you talk a bit about what the purpose of that was, what it was, who you spoke to and the outcomes you experienced because of that?

Speaker 2: 12:32

So, really, with the Scholar Social that was a non-profit organization as well as podcasts. Then I started with my colleagues in the Harvard Diversity Project. That is no longer a business now, but it was the stepping stone for my current business. For us, we were always having those high intellectual conversations, but always having fun. One day one of the colleagues we were sitting on the phone and her mom comes up to us. When we faced them she was like y'all need to start a podcast. Y'all are having insightful conversations that need to be shared. One thing about the Harvard Diversity Project is that it's meant for minority students. We were having conversations that people thought that 16, 15, 14-year-old minority teenagers weren't talking about, and so we built a business plan. It came up with the execution of what this would look like. The first season that we did it wasn't the best, but we did it. Then, after that season, we started partnering with local companies and specifically one called Comedy Hype, here or Back Home in Atlanta. They provided us a space to record our films. They provided us a space to host our events. They really provided a mentoring opportunity for us because, again, that was a creative space as well.

Speaker 2: 13:57

I think a lot of us within the podcast is that we knew that our dreams were bigger than just the scholars' social. So, yes, we were having conversations about generational cycles. Yes, we were having conversations about being black in America. Yes, we were having conversations about education and how education has shifted our perception of life. We were having those conversations.

Speaker 2: 14:22

We were asking those hard-core questions that you would think again that adolescents weren't having, and you see it a lot in PWIs, but in black spaces you don't see that a lot because they think, or the perception is, is that you can't have them. So we were just showing the world that we can, and here's how you do it and here's how you can build off of it. And we invite you into these conversations as well. We invite you to ask us questions. So it was the most of the things that with the scholars' social that we did. But again, we realized that our dreams were bigger than just the scholars' social. So we all decided independently to do our own thing and each and every one of them are doing their best and they're doing it well and they're very, very successful at their young age.

Speaker 1: 15:15

When you started that podcast. I think there's a big difference between what you did I guess, what I'm trying to do, but mostly what you did because you actually did it very successfully and compared to what a lot of other kids would do and even a lot of people on social media would do, in that your first step I mean there's a 15-year-old, 16-year-old you developed a business plan. So you've always had this entrepreneurial mindset in order not just to have a podcast and talking about things, but how can I grow this? So what made you think I'm not just going to post episodes, but I'm going to try and build a brand out of this? And how did you manage to partner with the comedy social and actually really try and get genuine external interest into what you were doing?

Speaker 2: 15:57

Yeah, it's really funny to me because everything is parallels, right, everything is parallels. A little backstory here when we had our Harvard Diversity Project classes was the same space that my father started his church right, it was the same space and I don't know. For us it was just like a, it was all like a parallel because all of us had a different story connected to it. So, yes, always had the entrepreneurial side. I'll touch on that first, because one thing about it and one thing that I always understood going into any business, is that if it doesn't have an impact, if it does not provide a solution, if it does not have a mission, I cannot do it. Because if it does not have any of those three things, there's no foundation, right, there's no foundation to build upon that. So I always think of, like a construction, building, right, like your building. You start off with the blueprint, right, the blueprint is a business plan, and so you're starting to get the nitty gritty, right, you starting to build the foundation of the building. If that foundation is not strong enough, the building would not withstand. So how in the world am I supposed to build a company and it does not have a good foundation? And I expect for the company to be here 10 years, 15 years, 70 years plus, right, how I had to ask those questions. If I was not here, how would the company continue? That's how I started thinking about those things at 12 or 13 years old, because that's what I was taught in that same building where we decided to start our social In terms of comedy hype and how we built those networking skills.

Speaker 2: 17:40

I think every time that I've built a genuine connection out of business, it all happened casually. It was never like forced. It was like I'll probably know of a person, right, I'll probably know of a person, I'll do my research, but I would not go out my way. It said oh my God, listen, hey, I need you, because as soon as you ask for something, it will not be provided. You have to build that genuine conversational, you have to build that friendship, you have to build that form of alliance in order to ask for something. So, with comedy hype, we literally walked out of class one day and comedy hype is right next door to a smoothie place and the owner was right there and they're like you know, what do y'all do? And they were like oh, we're hard to date scholars and also we own a non-profit organization. They're like, wait, what Boom built that connection you know what I mean Out of a smoothie shop. So it's like we knew of these places. I mean knew of the impact they could possibly have.

Speaker 2: 18:46

But we only wait on that alignment. And I always wait on alignment, both in my personal life and in my business life, because if you don't wait on that alignment you're gonna end up like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm rushing the soup thighs Like I just had a conversation with someone who was very successful in Atlanta and he is a manager to like to celebrities and things of that nature, specifically actors and he told me you have all these goals, right With every project. You have all these goals, but if you do not sit within one specific goal at a time, it will be rushed and you won't have time to build onto it. So I think that's just how I've always internally thought about business and the perception of business and the outcome of it all. But then again, I always believe that networking should become out of like being casual. What's the source? It's not. It won't be the thing for you.

Speaker 1: 19:51

How do you balance that alignment and being casual, Whilst also when you're really hungry for working with a brand or finding business? How do you balance those two? And also, would you ever deal with people that you or brands you've worked with that you don't necessarily completely align with, or have you always only ever worked with people that exactly fit your mission statement?

Speaker 2: 20:15

The ones that I thought I didn't align with were always the ones that ended up working out better than I expected. I don't know. I think I don't know. I think it's more so and, to correct me if I'm wrong, you're asking me specifically reword that question. We'll answer it in the first place.

Speaker 1: 20:36

Sure, you mentioned alignment and drawing a comparison between the. I think it was the comedy the comedy brand and your podcast, and you were talking about the casualty, about how you were able to casually meet the owner and then develop that relationship. But I'm asking sort of a two-fold question one of how, basically for other people, if they wanted to find similar connections and that they just weren't coming to them, how they could find them. And then I'm also asking you if you would work with a brand that didn't completely align with your beliefs.

Speaker 2: 21:13

To touch your question number one, this was something that I learned out of a Microsoft Summit with one of our partners, girl Wonder and LBRN, which is a producing company or a management company out in Atlanta, and at this conference she said to me she, this is the executive producer, like the VP of, like she runs things at this, like the business. And she said up there at the Microsoft Summit and she said I started off as like an intern, right she? The way you build connections is by just showing up, doing the work, having that conversation and letting them ask you. Anytime an opportunity presented itself, her superior would ask her, right, and then that's how she elevated and that's how she got to one step after another, one step after another. That's how you build those genuine connections by just showing up, doing the work, doing what you need to do, doing what you are. You're standing on one, because then they see, oh okay, they don't have to ask for anything, I'm gonna just give it to them on a silver platter. That's how it works and that's how I've seen a lot of the times.

Speaker 2: 22:28

And in my dad's business right, and in the search industry, that's how things work, because you show up and you give your service and you tell them, you give them what they need, right. Other happenings are like you know what I need to provide for you, like I need to give you something in return. That's how business works right. It's a. It's a return and exchange, no matter what industry you in. It's no matter what industry you're in. It will always be a return and exchange, return exchange. That's how it works. Now in terms of the comedy. Hi remind me that.

Speaker 1: 23:00

Second question the second question was that, if they don't necessarily align with your personal beliefs, how you still if you would still work with them?

Speaker 2: 23:09

If it doesn't work, leave. There's been plenty of emails that have not been returned, that have not been answered to, because, number one, sometimes it might not work in your timeline of your business, like your quarter one, your quarter to your brother three, quarter four. And if it doesn't work, and if you look at your timeline and then you see like okay, maybe it could work here. But if that doesn't work, it's like okay, let's not push it any further, because the ones you keep pushing, it's like if I, alright, now I get it, leave it alone.

Speaker 2: 23:47

But I've faced many opportunities where I thought it was gonna be a great one, right, and sometimes the leadership wasn't how I expected to expected it to be, or maybe sometimes the communication Was it what I needed it to be. So once I see certain things like that, that's how I know. You know, maybe I'm not in alignment with this right, but there's also been times where I thought initially, going into something that I could not Connect my company or my brand to what their business serves. However, those are the people who are still in partnership with today, because we figure out ways to innovate and if you, you want a company in a partnership that you're in, are not finding ways to innovate. That is no longer a company that you should be a part of, because you need to be thinking about how can I support you and how can you support us. Right again, a return in exchange.

Speaker 1: 24:43

Going back to this, this point of the podcast, and I think there's a lot of things. I Think when people are trying to think of a business idea or something to start, there's often a lot of disbelief in that, oh, I should actually do this. All things that go wrong, but not only on actually just starting the podcast and building the brand. I'd be curious on your almost fearless mindset in talking about these issues, because a lot of these, these things can be extremely personal In your childhood, things that actually impact you and your friends on a day to day. So what made you so fearless and think I'm actually going to talk about these things in a public forum for the world to hear?

Speaker 2: 25:19

It wasn't until I did like a poetry event. Right, I did a poetry event and Someone came up to me can't remember her name exactly, but she came up to me. She was like you healed me. I was like wait, what I was like, what you not healed you. And she was like you healed me, like your words, what you do, you just do it.

Speaker 2: 25:45

And I think for me that was a turning point, because I was like whoa, my powers, my words do have the power to change someone. My actions have the power to change someone. So it's like okay, why not? Why not just show the world what I can do? And and it's like, with that in the back of my head is like I know I'm healing a lot of Black girls right now just by showing them like I am doing it. Is that hard as hell? Yeah, but I'm doing it and I'm showing you that you can do it too, no matter how sophisticated I may, I may, I may make it look, but I'm gonna tell you the vulnerable sides of it all. That's one thing about me. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm just going to be straight, honest with you, like, if you want to do this, if, if this is something that you need to do, there's how you do it and I think with that, and I think with all of my platforms, I showcase that I can't and I think by telling my story and by connecting it with other, with other stories, is not very much different than everyone else.

Speaker 2: 26:48

We all connect out of pain and out of trauma and, unfortunately, pain and trauma is our means of. Is that inspiration of getting out of the struggle is our, it's our means of Trying to become something for someone and for ourselves. So I realize, connected with people through my story, it's the best way to get to them. So I'm like, okay, in every platform, what am I gonna do on this, on my story? Every platform, what am I gonna do? I'm gonna tell you how you can be where I am today. So I think that's kind of like the turning point for me. Or was it important?

Speaker 1: 27:22

Have you not any particular stories of people connecting with your podcast and hearing what you've you've said and them going on to do particular things?

Speaker 2: 27:31

Yeah, um, I have a friend that I went to High school with and he was always just fear. I was like it's something about him. Yeah, he got this fire in him. He knows what he wants. He just needs to figure out how to get it. And at first I I was like who is this annoying kid keep asking me? And then I'm like you know what? Let me, let me, let me sit down and talk with him. Let me let me tell him how I'm doing, what I'm doing and and to see His, his evolution from what was that sophomore year in high school All the way to a college and freshman.

Speaker 2: 28:11

He's doing it. He's he's joining companies, he's joining organizations, he's building his own, he's stepping out and doing things that he thought he would not be able to do. Um. So I often, often, reflect on him because Even after, like, putting down and talking with him, he still says me opportunities. Like you know what? I think this is a great opportunity. Um, you know what? I think you should speak here. It's like, again, that return in exchange. It's always a return in exchange, without you even knowing it. But he has um Done a lot and I'm really, really, really proud of him and I wish him nothing but um success.

Speaker 1: 28:50

How did you transition? Uh, you mentioned that I. Everyone went their separate paths, but you, you transitioned into creating your own production company, elon and co. Uh, what is that? How did that transition occur and what lessons did you take from the podcast to create this new platform?

Speaker 2: 29:07

whoo, when I could tell you what thing in the business things can get a little shaky. Um, it can get a little shaky and it came to a point within the scholar social where it wasn't becoming fun anymore. And it's like, if something is no longer fun for me in a place of business, I can no longer Be involved in it. Um, and I was the only thing, that I was the only one that was filling these emotions. Again, we were all having our own independent success and it kind of became like a hierarchy thing, kind of became a Erase who could be the most successful. And I did not like that. I was like this is not me, who I want to be. I was like we can all be friends and we can all be successful, or we can all be friends, be successful and do it together. We decided to say, hey, we can be successful.

Speaker 2: 30:02

I own separate ways, um, but with this um, but in how I took it to Elon and co productions, I was talking to one of my mentors who, um, used to be one of the vps at um, amazon, um, and I always had this dream of starting a production company and I thought like, maybe I want to have the next tata perry studios, maybe I want to have the next okra winfrey network, maybe I want to have the next amazon? Um, maybe. And she was like, um, hey there, hey girl, you're already doing this production. You're already because at that time, um, I have, I have above the love of poetry and film and at the time I was producing poetic films, um, by myself, and just showcasing, showcase who I was, and a different light is what people only know me was Known me, as was the pre-sha daughter for this social media girl, and I'm like I'm neither, I'm day of round. So it was like she told me like you know what you need to sit down and what do you need to do, create a business plan and figure out how you can start this production company now.

Speaker 2: 31:09

So in my I started producing that in like my sophomore junior year, and junior year was really like it was. It was hard. It was not hard, but it was hard because you're trying to figure out what you want. Right, this is a year and four year. What college am I going to go to? How the world I'm going to show these colleges that I'm that girl for them, like I'm that student for them that can change their spaces, change their institution.

Speaker 2: 31:36

And so I sat down and I built this business plan and I created a local productions, which is a youth led production company that is meant to create spaces for minority talented students, both ranging from middle school all the way up. It's the young adults who are trying to go into the entertainment and professional fields as well. As we also produce poetic films. Again, my love is poetry and film, but do I do combine the two? And there's always an audience for something and there was an audience within that. So that's kind of. But that is how I started in low-micro productions and that's kind of where that shift occurred.

Speaker 1: 32:21

So I think you said you just arrived when you said those two thing. What do I do? Combine the two. I know I like that. After building that business plan, how did you go from the idea to actually going and building, building it out? What were the initial steps?

Speaker 2: 32:37

Oh, it was a lot one thing about Atlanta and thank God, because it probably would have been harder if I was like in rural town or something. Atlanta is a melting pot of creatives and young talent and it's like the beauty leaves he's someone else. Start doing it. You'll be surprised see how many people start bringing to you like, hey, let me have on this project with you. Hey, let me do this, let me do that. That's how you start building that network within.

Speaker 2: 33:04

No, you know you're within your cohort and like within your, your everyday people that you hang with, and like people who were in my company or who were in my company, we're also like one of them where they were awesome. This guy was social and he was like you know what I have, this passion for creativity at, this passion for styling. I'm like, okay, come on my team. Boom, what are you? A creative director? And it's like, with those people you're just meeting and you're meeting more and more people and and it's a quick DM, right, it's like, hey, I see you're doing this, how can I be of help? That's how I kind of like started my company, because at first it was just me and my, my friend, who is like the, the everyday logistics person, and and it was just us at one point and then it just started slowly to build and to build, and to build and to build. I think that's kind of how, like everything started, but it's.

Speaker 2: 34:06

I really just had to sit down with the goal and then then again everything in terms of networking always happened. Naturally, my company be hosting an event in the summer, going into a senior year of high school, with a local Black owned tea company in Atlanta and we did a open, open mic and the person who I told you about in terms of he's very successful today he invited it was another event going on that same week. He invited multiple people out and one person he invited was is my current project manager today and she came up to me after the event. She was like you know what day I love everything you're doing. We need to connect and I need you like I need you to my girl. You're here with the plan. You see the vision, let's go.

Speaker 2: 34:50

So I think that's everything happens simultaneously, but everything happened again, waiting for that alignment and for that reasoning it was as many as many Opportunities that have that I haven't told no, or we have to know right, and I think with that it's like you kind of are just like learning the ins and outs. As I'm building this company, I was learning the ins and outs and man has it been hard. And it's hard like this is no joke. But I'm very thankful for the process because you, you make a mistake and you learn from it.

Speaker 1: 35:27

If you were to do it again in a for-profit setting, what would you do differently?

Speaker 2: 35:32

Oh man, I Think in terms, if I did in the for-profit, we will be probably 10 times more successful. But I would have to be willing to wait on it, because if it was a for-profit you know when a for-profit organizations you can't really do everything at a rapid pace, right. So I feel like what I have now was the test subject. Maybe if I do do it again, it will be for profit. But in the space that I was in, or still currently in, I don't think logistically would have been right. Sure, um, I'm more.

Speaker 1: 36:17

I'm not saying you should have done it for profit in the first place. I'm I'm raising the idea. I'm just saying like in terms of like a learning from what you have, the lessons you took In that field. If you were to do a similar thing in a for-profit setting, in a for-profit setting, what lessons would you have taken from that and done differently?

Speaker 2: 36:38

I Would have got outreach Right, I would have done more outreach. That's what I would have done differently, like I did outreach here, but it was closing it right. I just really stuck with the people that I really already knew. I didn't care to meet more people, but if it was in that setting it would have been more outreach. You know, it would have been more of a willingness of a community if that makes sense, sure.

Speaker 1: 37:06

And with that, being so young and creating a production company, how do you both show the level of trust that, hey, I'm gonna work with you on this and actually follow through with it, but then also show the performance side that, hey, I'm actually really good at this, you should work with me. How are you able to illustrate that when you're within that field?

Speaker 2: 37:26

Um, by doing it by myself first, by doing it by myself without a team, right, because that's the first couple of projects were by myself Until you know me, code became a thing. And when they saw that they're like, oh okay, if you can do this by yourself here, here's how my, how, my team can support you and that's what, that's what CEO that told me, that's what VP said, told me, they're like, oh okay, we see, we see in the precedence, right, we see that you are able to do this. Oh okay, so you're also doing it with Five plus ten plus more people now. So I think for I think, them seeing that that kind of gave them Trusting me To show them that I can do it, yeah, it may be hard, it may be some rising and maybe a lot of things, because when you get a project, it does not say that same project in these, it needs to change sometimes.

Speaker 2: 38:25

Um, but when they saw that, that's when they realized like, okay, this girl is nothing to play with. I'm like, yeah, I'm not just here to beg for your money, I'm here to use your money in order to make a difference. Um, so it just really came out of stress and again building those gene when covers um gene connections, because every person I'm in partnership with I'm also friends with or acquaintances, but um, and I think them seeing that it's really what helped me in the long term.

Speaker 1: 38:53

One of the the key things you've spoken about is the idea of a mentor and them advising you and bring you along. Uh, for those that don't know what is a mentor, how did you find your mentors and how could someone listening go about finding their own?

Speaker 2: 39:08

Yeah, um, mentor and mentor is someone who guides you through the process. Um a mentor. I have mentors in different realms of my life. I mentor mentors in terms of the academic field and mentors in terms of the personal, and mentor mentors in terms of the business. Um, sometimes those are just given to you out of organizations that you're a part of. Other times it happens out of half a stance. Um, and every mentor that I have today Are either people I call auntie or I call, or my mom calls her friend, right, or my father calls their colleague or his friend. Um, that's how I receive my mentors.

Speaker 2: 39:50

Because of that, because of those connections, um, and because they saw that I was more than just their niece or their god daughter or or this person's daughter, they really saw that I had this drive in me, that had this driving me, that that that is literally burning. I'm like I need to get it out, and if I don't get it out, I'm going to go insane. That's what they saw. Um, in ways to get a mentor is the people have reached out, singing through email, linkedin, and say, hey, can we have a sit down? Hey, can you be my mentor? I see what you're doing. Um, both men, women, everyone like, and I'm kind of like shocked because like, oh my god, as I'm still being a mentor myself, like I've gotta become a mentor to someone else. But, um, getting those mentors can just by being, can be by you know your family connections, um, it could be in your Business settings and just be simply by saying that email sitting, that text message um, yeah, if we're going out of ways that you need support. Um, again, it's different.

Speaker 1: 40:55

You know what advice would you have for people? I mean, your podcast was was about people and um, facing, um, you know, facing the things in everyday life. What advice would you have for someone, irrelevant of race or gender, that is facing, you know it's facing oppression, or is facing financial struggles or is struggling in school and they're lost and they're looking for their way forward, of how they could find a job or find a passion or find a way to improve themselves. What advice would you have for those people?

Speaker 2: 41:32

What you're saying. That is like, literally like the thoughts that happens in the college girls mind, or college college students want a period, um, and so those are actually the conversations I've been having with myself. So, as you're, as you're asking me that question, I'm thinking about how in the world did I get up right? And I think specifically in this chapter, and I think what I had to do right and then things that I had to get out of that spiral of thoughts. I literally it was times where I literally could not get out this dorm and I was like you know what? I can't, I can't do this anymore. Like, what in the world am I doing If I did not tell myself to get up and to build a support system and and to build a to-do list? Those are the three things that I had to do. I had to tell myself to get up and update, get up there and notice probably not gonna be the best day, but get up, you can do it. You can do it. Boom, what else? I need a support system. Who am I leaning on? I'm leaning on admin, I'm leaning on family members, I'm leaning on those close knit of friends. And then how am I going to make sure that I am Making up for all of these spiral thoughts.

Speaker 2: 42:51

Right, I had to create a to-do list. And that to-do list is not just I'm gonna do my laundry, no, no, no, no, it's deepening that. It's figuring out ways how you're gonna start a hobby, or figuring out ways that you can build upon your business, how can you make yourself grow. And when you start with those things, I think that's the only way, the only way you can get out of those spiral motions and thoughts, because once that customs you, it becomes your everyday cycle and it takes a lot to get out of. It takes a lot, which I don't wish upon anyone, but if you are going through that those are the three steps that I did, and I'm still going through it to this day doesn't get easy, I mean it's going to get harder, but as long as you keep those three things in mind, you should be just fine.

Speaker 1: 43:42

That's really good advice for anyone listening. I think there is one sort of standout thing from everything you've done which was picked up by the media, particularly over the past year. And then you were able to get into over 50 colleges, get over 1.3 million in scholarship money. I would be curious as to why you applied to certain colleges, how you were able to get so much scholarship money in the first place and what sort of mindset you had going into the application process and how you built this perfect application.

Speaker 2: 44:20

Yeah, I kind of like I first start with like the last question you presented me For me back home in Atlanta. I wasn't really the, I wasn't the first person to do what I did, right, and I remember being like a freshman at high school, eighth grader I'm like dang. How in the world did they get into all these colleges? How in the world did they become successful? And I looked at the blueprint. I looked at the blueprint, I saw what they were doing. They were the SGA presidents, they were the BSA presidents, they were the Beta Club presidents, they were in national honor society. They did it all while still being themselves, while still having fun, while still being this person that was willing to be a leader. So I always looked upon that as a younger person in high school and looking at these people who have done it, and I would have these conversations with them. How did you do it? Like I'm not trying to pay for college, like no, no, no, no, no. That's not my sister, beau here. I'm not trying to have student loan, I'm not trying to do any of that. How in the world did you get to where you need to be? And I was having those conversations since ninth grade and being in the pandemic right and being a freshman turned sophomore in the COVID pandemic. You're stuck at home and you're like, okay, what else do I have to provide the world right? And start researching, researching. And at that time I thought I was gonna be a lawyer. I was like, mm, that doesn't sound right, I don't wanna be a lawyer, I can't do this. Okay, visual media studies, right Production.

Speaker 2: 46:06

And I started in ninth grade year. I just started this whole list of schools that provided a what is it called? A major or a minor or a certificate, and you know the things that I was interested in. And I just kind of set with that. And then I started researching the big scholarships, the gates, the Coca-Cola, the Quest Bridge, the fraternity, the sorority scholarships, and this is all in my ninth grade, 10th grade year, and after that I just really like, had to really hone in.

Speaker 2: 46:38

At first I did not know I was gonna go to Duke University. I thought I was gonna go to Harvard. Personally I used to go to Harvard, usc, nyu, columbia and then, like I visited all those schools, I was like, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, this is not gonna work for me. And unexpectedly I visited Duke University on a high school trip by junior year and I was like, hey guys, I'm going to Duke University. It was the only one that made sense. It was the only one that you know was like for me at the time and the space that I was in.

Speaker 2: 47:16

I was like I'm going to figure out a way to come to Duke University. I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I don't know when, but I am gonna do it. But being a black woman and looking at that 7.7% accepted is where you're like, well, can I do it? And there's like so many people were telling me like, maybe you can't do it, maybe you can't Like, yeah, I had the grades, yeah, I had the accolades, but that's 7.7% was scaring me.

Speaker 2: 47:41

So one thing about it you know Common App, how we, you know we utilize that.

Speaker 2: 47:46

You apply to 20 schools on the year.

Speaker 2: 47:48

And then, before I started the Common App process, I started going to college venues and I received only side admissions, only side scholarships, just by showing them you know my resume and my grades.

Speaker 2: 48:04

And I was like, okay, full right here, you go Like right next to my I don't know what else, same, you know what I mean, and then after that it's another platform called Black Common Apps and that's where you apply to all of the HBCUs in America and I applied to that a good majority of the schools, right out into providing me with an academic scholarship and, man, but I was really set on either Duke was my number one Harvard or USC, and I applied to all those schools. Only one that I did not get into was USC and I'm like oh, oh, like can't do that, because if I wasn't at Duke, I would either be a USC I don't think I could handle Harvard but Duke was. Yeah, that's how like, that's the story of like a part of so many schools, because of that fear of being a black woman and not getting into a school that people back home thought you could not get into.

Speaker 1: 49:06

What you mentioned that feel when you visited Duke. What do you think it was in particular about the school that made you want to come here and how has that contrasted from that not being here to now actually being here as a freshman student?

Speaker 2: 49:21

Uh-oh, harvey, he has some questions now. I think for me at the time, at first visit at Duke, I had this before feeling. I was like, wow, I could see myself conquering a lot here. I could see myself doing everything that I thought I should be doing. I'm like, ok, how can I bring you like you know, before you're fresh? You're like, ok, how can I bring you on the code here? How can I do this? How can I show these people who I am as a person? How do you restart this narrative of you from high school? Because essentially, you're becoming a new person?

Speaker 2: 50:05

And for me, if I was going to go to a PWI center, that was very important for me was there black organizations in the black representation. And when I tell you, every time I'll come with Duke I visit most of the times I just kept running into black people and I appreciate the minorities here, right, because you won't just see more standard perception of a student, you will see a multitude, and that's both in the staff, that's both in the student body, that's both in the Durham and it's like that's what I needed, that's what I crazed. I'm like, ok, I could do this, right, I could do this, so that's what it was for me. And it was the Duke alumni committee, right, the Duke alumni committee was the start-up. I was unexpectedly back home just meeting people who either knew a Duke alumni or was a Duke alumni and as I'm talking with them I'm like, ok, I can really see myself here. They told me it will be hard. That's what they told me, and I said I didn't believe them, I did not believe them at all. But they just told me it will be hard and I think now being here is kind of hard and it's not.

Speaker 2: 51:17

I don't think it's hard academically I haven't pushed academically yet but it's more so the social life and like making sure that you are showing up on who you need to be in this heart. It's very hard because you're still learning who you want to be in this chapter of your life and you have to realize that you have to let go of some certain things, certain ideas, certain perceptions, and you're all doing that while you're trying to figure out who in the world to I want to be right now, while everybody else try to figure out their own thing. That's what they don't tell you about college. It's like, okay, yeah, the academics are great. Yeah, finals are here. I'm not worried about that. I'm more so worried about how can I feel in a place where I am okay, I'm okay, am I independent? See? To say yeah, I'm cool, and except me as I am?

Speaker 2: 52:12

I think a lot of the times college students have this mask. They correct me if I'm wrong. We go on the same campus, we have this mask and this persona, that everything's okay, but in our head we have no spyingly thoughts that you mentioned Right, and it's like they're trying to try to get out of it. You're trying to get out of it. You're trying to get out of it. You're like whoa you're in a new environment, you're with new people, you're not with your parents anymore, you're not with your friends back home, like in the ideal world, the ideal world. You just go back home. We do, but we live on this campus, we learn in this campus, we socialize on this campus, we are learning how to be our own selves and I think that's the struggle that I'm having right now Just as much as anyone else. I'm just being vulnerable about it Because I've had conversations with people who are trying to say predicting it's me and it's just the willingness to accept it at this point.

Speaker 1: 53:09

Thank you. That's a very touching story and, I think, something that a lot of kids here would probably agree on. For many people it's the first time away from home as you mentioned being away from your parents and often those support systems which you mentioned was so important are sort of taken away, or at least they're not taken away, but just in a different format, as your parents are at home every night. And, yeah, I think anyone starting out their college career finds that tough, but I do know that it does get better. I mean, I was at boarding school in the UK and I found that when I initially came I found that really tough. I mean, I was away from home, I was in another country for the first time, I didn't know anyone even though the academic side was fine had to do completely new activities and make complete new friends and I think that whole thing gets really overwhelming. But I think as you sort of go on over time it gets better.

Speaker 1: 54:02

But I think there's a presumption that when you're going to this new place, that all the connections and where you were so let's say it was rugby for me or soccer or whatever and you're doing really well you think you're just going to keep getting better, and it might have been similarly with you, your production company or something like that.

Speaker 1: 54:19

And you've got this base, you're going to go to Chug. It's just going to take off straight away, whereas all the other strands, all the support network which were here before now have to be restarted Because you're in a new place. But, yeah, you can always talk to me and I'm sure you're going to be flying over the next few months. I'm curious, though aside actually, not aside from that, but both on an emotional level, on a career level what's next for you, what's in an ideal world, if all goes well, over the next year and moving forward, what do you want to achieve out of your time at Duke, and do you have any? You mentioned you don't want to be a lawyer, but do you have any particular plans of using these skills and your experience in your background, or what you want that to be a leap pad of what you want to achieve next?

Speaker 2: 55:06

I think what college has really taught me as far as being okay with change right and being okay with the perception of what that change looks like in the other, in the nephri-dial, basically, what's next for me? Getting back into that poetry room, right, like I'm going back into Ilo-Miko, but really focusing on who is Dei-Abrown right, who is Dei-Abrown essentially, and not what is Ilo-Miko it is, who is Dei-Abrown. So I'm going back into that poetry and film aspects and the creative side, because I think when I got to Duke, I'm like, oh my God, I'm not being creative and this is a big part of learning here. So I'm stepping back into that. I'm working on really big projects currently on a book, I'm working on a film. That's really my main focus in 2024, and whatever else comes with it. I'm ready to put the seatbelt on and go along with this emotional roller coaster and be willing to go through it At 23,.

Speaker 2: 56:19

23 didn't teach me anything. It taught me to just go with it and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But if it does come back, it will come back and if it's aligned, it's aligned and that's how I have to go into 2024, I believe, even though sometimes I might hurt, even though I might be confusing, even though it might make you sad, just keep going. Just keep going. But that's what's next for me.

Speaker 1: 56:45

What is one thing this is the last question what is one thing that you wish that someone listened to? This podcast about Dei-Abrown, of what you want them to take away from you and what you've said?

Speaker 2: 57:01

Go after what you want, no matter how many people tell you that you're crazy, no matter how many people tell you that you can't do it. Just do it, Because when this perception and this magnitude of fear consumes you, it would drain you. So I was just saying fight it Like, fight that fear, Fight that fear of being who you want to be and just do it. So yeah, that's the key takeaway, because a lot of the things that I have accomplished would not be here if I didn't just do it.

Speaker 1: 57:37

Quote unquote in Nikes, so Nikes, yeah, nike commercial right here.

Speaker 2: 57:41

Yeah, it's like a Nike's commercial, but yeah, you just got to do it, man, because if you don't, you're going to regret it, and what they're not always tell, like my close friends or my partners or my founding members, is that I don't ever want people to live a life with regret, because I think they can be taking away from you at any given time.

Speaker 1: 58:02

Thank you. I mean I've very much enjoyed this episode. I mean it's both pretty early in the day for the two of us, so I thoroughly appreciate you coming on. I think what's particularly interesting on this podcast and you might have noticed, even with the line of questioning I asked you, it's probably different to most of the news you've been on. So you received a lot of news coverage because you received so much money in for college scholarships and the math schools you got onto, but that, as you said, it doesn't tell you who day Brown is. You know.

Speaker 1: 58:29

That's, in my opinion, that's like one of the least important things about who you are and what you've done, because it's not just a girl that's received so much money and so many outward accomplishments that mean so much to everyone else, but it's actually someone that's gone on their own unique path to accomplish not one, not two, not three things, but multiple amazing things to get to where you are today. I think that's a very key thing for the kids on the Duke campuses that whenever I speak to anyone, they all got these amazing things that you've done. I mean from from coming from your background and realizing that, hey, I don't actually have to behave this way that I can become who I want to become, and the fact that you're still discovering that and that you're not the finished article, I think, says a lot. You know, going and interning as a 13 14 year old at one of the biggest brands in the world and not only being like, oh, I actually like this, I don't want to be a lawyer but actually following through with that, transitioning that into a podcast and developing a business plan, having a business like mindset and really opening up the world about issues that you find important and feeling comfortable and vulnerable enough to share that with people.

Speaker 1: 59:34

And then building on another layer on top of that creating a production company, not for profit, as I, my entrepreneurial mindset was saying, but instead actually wanting to help those in community, help people. I've, you've had these unique opportunities to learn from and transition that into helping them in their own lives. And now being here at juke and thinking, actually all this other career stuff that doesn't matter for now, but how can I focus on myself? How can I then go back to my roots, focusing on your poetry, focusing on your friends and what makes you okay, and I really appreciate you opening up and sharing that with me, and I feel that anyone listening to this podcast will have a lot to take away from your lessons and your journey. So thank you so much.

Speaker 2: 1:00:16

Thank you for having me. It's such a pleasure to be on my platforms that allow this space for growth and for opportunity. So you know it's a pleasure and whatever you need, I'm here.

Speaker 1: 1:00:30

Thank you so much.