Making The Right Choice

Elexis Fisher remembers how close she was to having a completely different life after high school.

“I was deciding between two schools, Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia,” Elexis said. “A few days before I had to make my decision, my sister convinced me to make a last-minute trip to visit Emory before making my mind up.”

It was the middle of a school week, and Elexis had never even been on a plane before, but that didn’t stop them from making the trip.

“I got to Atlanta and fell in love with the campus. It was so beautiful, and I remember being like, ‘oh snap’, I want to go here!” Elexis said. “Thankfully, I had already been accepted and I had already received my financial aid package, so all that was left was to convince my mom to let me move to Atlanta.”

Elexis managed to convince her mother; however, without any family in the area, Elexis had to make new friends and get acclimated with her surroundings.

“Being away from home definitely taught me to reach out more and make my own friends on campus,” Elexis said. “I remember going to all the events on campus and doing my best to get to know other people and making connections along the way.”

Elexis, now a junior double-majoring in sociology and psychology at Emory, was wrapping up her freshman year when the pandemic hit.

“I had come home for Spring Break, and I just didn’t go back since everything was shut down,” Elexis said. “I spent my entire sophomore year of college at home.”

In addition to doing her schoolwork, Elexis longed for new ways to help keep herself engaged while being stuck at home.

“I remembered the resources that Uplift provides to alumni, so I peeked through the internships they had listed and stumbled upon an internship at Uplift’s Central Management Office,” Elexis said. “I decided to give it a try, and I got it!”

As an intern for Uplift’s Road to College and Career (RTCC) department, Elexis worked closely with Uplift’s Alumni Counselors and even served as a guest on an episode of the RTCC podcast.

“I remember showing off the finished product to my friends and family and them being so excited and astounded that it was actually me,” Elexis said. “My internship with RTCC is something I really enjoyed doing and I look forward to finding new ways to continue to offer my perspective both as a college student and as an Uplift alumnus.”

Once she returned to Emory for in-person classes, Elexis heard about the formation of the Uplift Alumni Board and jumped at the opportunity to become a part of it.

“I love talking to people, so whoever becomes my mentee, I hope they take a lot from our conversations,” Elexis said. “I’ll have gone or will still be going through the same things that they will be going through, and I’m excited about finding similarities and commonalities with each other that will hopefully be beneficial.”

The goal of the Uplift Alumni Board program is to help innovate and develop new ways to activate, engage, and connect current scholars and Uplift alumni around the network.  This will help strengthen the Uplift alumni network as well as provide opportunities to learn and grow as young adults preparing for a career.