College Graduation at Edgewood College: Aiming for the White House
While born in New Jersey, Amanita Fall moved to Senegal, West Africa when she was five-years old before returning to New Jersey to finish her high school career.
By Jonathan Gramling
Aminata Fall, who graduated from Edgewood College in May, wants to work in international relations in the White House someday. And she just might due to the strength, intellect and focus that she has shown throughout her academic career.
While she was born in New Jersey, Fall spent much of her childhood in Senegal, West Africa and came back to the U.S. after graduating from high school in Senegal. Her father lives in New York and her mom is a consultant who is often on the road. And so Fall was pretty much on her own when she entered Edgewood College in 2019.
“It was so different as a college student,” Fall said. “When I came back to the U.S., I was in New Jersey for a while. It is so diverse. There are more colored people there. Edgewood was so different. At first, it was hard for me to make friends because of my color. I have experienced micro-aggressions and discrimination due to my skin color. It was hard at first, but I was able to manage.”
And it didn’t help that Fall had few resources backing her up.
“When I first came here in 2019, it was so rough for me,” Fall recalled. “I remember one day I went to school and financial aid dropped me out of my classes because
I didn’t have money to pay because Edgewood is so expensive. I was crying and I went to the president’s office. I just walked in. She said, ‘Why are you crying?’ I told her they were dropping me out of all of my classes and I didn’t really have money to pay and I didn’t want to get any loans. I needed help. She was so nice. She took me to the financial aid office and she told them that she needed me to go back to class. And they would figure out how I was going to pay. But I needed to go back to class. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know where I would be.”
Fall lived off-campus and worked two jobs, as a cashier at Metcalfe’s and in the deli at Pic N Sav. The pandemic, which began the spring of her freshman year, didn’t help to ease her isolation.
While she first majored in accounting when she entered Edgewood at the behest of her mother, Fall switched her major to computer science with a business concentration.
“I wanted to know more about computer science and technology, so I switched,” Fall said. “I needed to learn about coding and data bases. I just picked up the computer science. I was just so interested in the specific knowledge, so I wanted to know more. It wasn’t easy, but it was manageable for 3-4 years now. My mom was okay with that.”
Everything changed for Fall at Edgewood last semester when she connected with her advisor, Richard Sims.
“It was because of him that I was able to make more friends,” Fall said. “He helped me a lot to network and helped me make friends at school. From 2019 to 2022, I went to school for class and then I went home. I didn’t stay there. I didn’t go to any events. I didn’t stay in the Multicultural Student Lounge to make friends. But since we had Richard there, he always helped me to stay there to make connections with other people. And he talked to me about other events that we had there.”
Sims also helped Fall prepare for the next level.
“Richard helped me a lot,” Fall said. “He helped me to get into grad school. He told me how to get scholarships and how to pay off my student loans and how to get a better job.”
Fall’s isolation was eased somewhat by being a Bonner Scholarship recipient, which dictated that she perform community service while at Edgewood.
“I was part of the Bonner scholarship program, so sometimes I would go to a center to help them with the food pantry and buy groceries,” Bonner said. “Sometimes we would go to the elderly people to help them with their yard work or whatever help they need.”
While some students ease up as they approach college graduation, Fall’s schedule remained intense right up to graduation day.
“Now I work as a care giver with two different companies,” Fall said. “I work with Home Instead and Best Life Residential. And I took 19 credits last semester. I am so busy.”
While computer science would the career choice for many, for Fall, it is a means to an end.
“I just wanted to get a bachelor’s degree in computer science so that I could get a better job because I don’t really need a master’s degree in computer science or Ph.D. because I can learn anything from YouTube now about computer science,” Fall said. “So I just wanted to get a bachelor’s degree so I can have a better job that pays a lot of money.”
Fall’s real interest is international relations. And so she will be moving to the Dallas, Texas area to study international relations and with its robust IT economy, she hopes to land a computer science job.
“My goal is to work at the White House or maybe the State Department,” Fall said. “That’s why I am going for international relations. I would like to work in the White House of the Senate, anything with international relations. It would be amazing to be a spokesperson at the White House as a Muslim woman. I’m hoping to get an internship at the White House next summer.”
When Fall was asked what advice she would give incoming freshmen, she reflected on the last four years before answering.
“It’s not going to be easy to be honest because it was so hard for me,” Fall said. “This past few weeks, I have been feeling so overwhelmed because I’ve been thinking, ‘Oh My God, I can’t believe that I made it.’ It’s going to be hard, but don’t let any fear hold you back. Just remember that you are here for a goal and make sure that you reach your goal and get your degree and get out. Also taking care of your mental health is so important. Also take part in the community and give back in any manner that you can. Pay it forward by keeping in mind the help and inspiration that we get from friends, family and mentors during the school year.”
As graduation has neared, Fall has taken time to reflect on her Edgewood career.
“I am so glad to graduate,” Fall said. “It was so hard. That’s why I will be crying all week. I can’t believe I made it.”
But that doesn’t mean Fall will be taking a break. She will be putting in as many hours as she can as a care provider so that she can pay for her big move to the Dallas area, find an IT job and begin her graduate school career.
With her drive and intellect, one feels that it is only a matter of time before one will be hearing Fall on TV, making some international relations pronouncement from the White House. It’s only a matter of time.
