By Joe Heim Joe Heim Reporter covering a range of topics, including race, white nationalism, schools, student culture, Native American issues Email Bio Follow May 18 at 5:22 PM When Rashema Melson fir
st walked across Georgetown University’s campus as a freshman in the fall of 2014, she told herself she was smart enough to be there, had worked hard enough to be there, deserved to be there. But she didn’t always believe her own pep talks.
“My heart was pounding when she walked up there,” said Brown, who no longer lives in a shelter. “I thought, ‘That’s my baby. Her dream came true.’ ” A self-described introvert, she kept to herself most of her freshman year. She wasn’t sure what her classmates thought about her. And although she had a full scholarship and additional assistance through the Georgetown Scholars Program, which was created 15 years ago to bring more ethnic and socioeconomic diversity to the school, her previous life hadn’t magically disappeared. Melson’s mother and younger brother still lived in the shelter.
“I said to myself, ‘You worked so hard all your life even before you met this boy. You came up through the trenches, you came from a really tough background and you worked so hard. Why would you give that all up?’ ” Melson said. “I was being a coward and running away from the challenge.” Kaela Jackson, a close friend who bonded with Melson over their love of food and cooking, said she, too, admires Melson’s tenacity in pursuing her goals.
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