“I did my video probably 15 times before I got it right,” Davenport said. “I was tripping over my words. I told my grandma on the final attempt it would be my last, and if I didn’t get it right, I just wouldn’t do it. But my grandma said, ‘Don’t worry, you got it,’ and I did it. I really didn’t expect to get chosen at all.”
AT&T’s Dream in Black Rising Future Makers recognizes students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are making a positive impact within their communities and campuses. The program is part of AT&T’s effort to empower future leaders and dedicate resources toward initiatives that foster economic growth and innovation within the HBCU community.
According to AT&T, the 25 honorees aspire to become future professionals, such as state senators, news reporters or entrepreneurs, or to complete their education with doctoral degrees. The students were selected for not only their previously accomplishments but also their planned future endeavors.
Davenport noted that several honorees hail from such large and renowned schools as Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T State University, Hampton University and Howard University.
“It definitely puts SC State on the map with these other schools,” Davenport said. “It just means a lot to me that a little girl from SC State got chosen and is getting this big opportunity.”
Davenport’s video application in part highlighted her experiences in SC State’s Speech Pathology & Audiology program.
“Te'Dajia has shown a commitment to high academic performance and clinical services during her time in the Department of Speech Pathology & Audiology,” said Dr. Jessica Berry, the acting department chairperson. “She has excelled as a student clinician in our campus clinic and at local childcare facilities.
“We are proud of the work that she is doing, and that AT&T found value in her skills as an emerging leader. We know that as a ‘Rising Future Maker’ she will be an advocate for making better speech and hearing accessible for all,” Berry said.
Davenport initially wanted to be a teacher, but at her mother’s suggestion, she looked into speech pathology as a career.
That research led her to SC State, where the field has become a major focus.
“This was the only school I even applied to because I knew I wanted to go here . . . it was the right program,” Davenport said. “They said that 99% of graduates graduate with a job. That was all I needed to hear.”
With a goal of eventually starting her own speech pathology practice, Davenport intends to enroll in graduate school following her graduation from SC State next May. She sees herself working with children.
Growing up in Aiken and later Allendale, South Carolina, Davenport was an only child until her mother’s new marriage brought five younger siblings into her life.
“I definitely want to be working in schools. I love kids,” she said. “I was an only child for 18 or 19 years. I didn’t know what I had been missing in my life growing up, and then just like that, I got that feeling with my younger siblings.
“I love them. I always want to help them. They drive me, and they are the reason I want to work with kids,” Davenport said.
Along with a $5,000 prize presented by AT&T 5G, each Dream in Black Rising Future Maker receives a suite of technology tools.
On Saturday, Dec. 11, the honorees will take an expenses-paid trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, where the 25 scholars will network alongside one another and such advocates as current HBCU student and NBA champion J.R. Smith, actress/entrepreneur La La Anthony and actor Terrence J. to support their journeys.
“It means a lot,” Davenport said. “They go to other HBCUs and can give me information. I might want to go to one of those schools for graduate school. It just widens my horizon – my outlook on everything.”
Davenport’s selection also meant she got to invite a guest to join her on the trip to Greensboro. Who did she choose? Vivian Hoover, the grandmother who suggested she apply, of course.
“I’m excited for my grandma to have this opportunity,” Davenport said. “She’s been talking my head off about it. I’m a family-oriented person, and my grandmother and I are very close.”
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