ILA scholar Bre’Anna Metts-Nixon ’13 encourages students to pursue higher education in spite of life’s challenges

Rodrigues, Jill

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Means to Her Dreams

DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger5-16-2013Means to Her DreamsJill RodriguesFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationRodrigues, Jill, "Means to Her Dreams" (2013). Featured News Story. 130.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/130 News ArchiveMeans to Her DreamsILA scholar Bre’Anna Metts-Nixon ’13 encourages students to pursue highereducation in spite of life’s challengesMay 16, 2013 Jill Rodrigues '05BRISTOL, R.I. – Four years ago, Bre’Anna Metts-Nixon ’13 sat next to her mother, Christina, in theirProvidence home holding a piece of paper that would change her life. As they read aloud the letterof acceptance to Roger Williams University – complete with a combination of  nancial aid thatwould cover the cost of her entire college education – the two women were overwhelmed withemotion.  “We just started crying before I even got the word ‘congratulations’ out of my mouth. She wasjumping around and screaming. She just couldn’t believe that her only child was going to collegeand actually was going to make a di erence,” recalls Metts-Nixon. “We had never seen this amountof money o ered to anyone in our family to succeed and get as close to our dreams as possible.”This Saturday, she will have in hand another piece of paper to put her another step closer to herdream of becoming a music industry executive – speci cally, she wants to become chief operatingo cer of Black Entertainment Television (BET).Unlike many of her fellow graduates, Metts-Nixon began her RWU career well before receiving thatacceptance letter. Beginning in her freshman year of high school at Providence’s Times2 Academy,she joined Bridge to Success, a college preparatory peer mentoring program facilitated by RogerWilliams undergraduates at urban schools across Rhode Island. At the urging of multiculturalrecruitment specialist Don Mays, Metts-Nixon spent her summers on the Bristol campus preparingfor the SATs, attending mock classes, living in college residence halls and learning the ins-and-outsof the college application process. So when that acceptance letter arrived in the mail, RWU wasalready a comfortable  t, she says.  “Being here I knew that I had family right in Providence and I had friends here who were mymentors, and I knew Don, so there was much more of a support base here than at any otherschools. And, also at RWU, I had the opportunity to  x my major and my minor in a way that it would t whatever my passion was at the time. So I had more wiggle room to pursue what I wanted to do.”An Intercultural Leadership Award – a full-tuition scholarship for students who have overcome asigni cant life challenge and are  rst generation college students or English language learners –sweetened the deal considerably.  As a student, she has taken full advantage of the academic andextracurricular o erings at RWU, rising as a leader and mentor herself.“I became a mentor myself because I knew there were students at my high school that needed thesame help that I was getting and I knew I could be that mentor for them,” she says.Metts-Nixon eventually became the  rst undergraduate on-site director of RWU’s Summer Instituteand has maintained the consistent high marks required of ILA scholars. This all in addition tocompleting a study-abroad semester in London where she interned at a public relations  rm,serving as president of the Multicultural Student Union, working part-time in the Intercultural Centerand playing  ute for the University’s Instrumental Ensemble.She is quick to acknowledge the sta  and students who have supported her through her journey,most notably Mays, an associate director of undergraduate admission.“If it weren’t for Don Mays I wouldn’t have attended Roger Williams,” Metts-Nixon says. “Before Igot here, Don advocated for me, saying that I was going be the student to come and really bringchange – that I wasn’t going to be a student that was just going to be here to be here. Constantly,Don still reminds me, ‘Look what you’ve done while you’ve been here. You’re proving day by day tothe people that I advocated for you, letting them know that you would make a change and youhave. Don has constantly been that push for me to get through Roger Williams, especially duringthe tough times.”Other support networks include the Intercultural Center, where Metts-Nixon worked closely withcenter director and Associate Dean Ande Diaz and Assistant Director Candice De Los Reyes.  She also credits her peers in particular for not only helping her transition to college life, but also tosucceed as a student and leader. Particularly in the past year, Metts-Nixon has found another mentorin law student Erlin Rogel, a fellow South Providence native who she says inspires many students ofcolor on campus.“Seeing his success so far and him being in his  rst year of law school is an inspiration on its own,”says Metts-Nixon, who shares the goal of earning a law degree – a dream she’s held onto sinceelementary school.Now, with her bachelor of arts in communication (public relations) and music, Metts-Nixon has hersights set on graduate school – speci cally a dual degree in business and law with a specialization inmusic. She aspires to be a leader in the music industry, with a focus on creating better femalerepresentation in hip hop. And as she prepares to cross the Commencement stage, Metts-Nixoncan’t help but re ect on all of the allies and advocates that got her to this point.“I think it was big just getting here, and it was a big deal to my family. Getting a degree isunbelievable, because no one in my immediate family has a college degree but me,” she says. “Thatfor me is why I’m really excited about graduating. Because I know how much it means to them, Ican’t wait to see all of their faces and for me to feel proud as I walk across the stage to representthem. For me I feel like that’s a statement for my family – to show that we can do it.”Still, she knows the road ahead will have its challenges. She is vocal about having about $30,000 instudent loan debt to repay, recently participating in a press conference with U.S. Sen. Jack Reedabout the student debt crisis. Still, she believes in the value of her higher education and encouragesstudents with  nancial concerns attending college to continue to pursue their goals, as she has:“Don’t let it stop you. I know it’s my biggest fear. But there are always going to be people aroundthat will inspire you and show you that there is another way. Loads and loads of people have done it.Whether that’s a good thing or not – it is doable. You just have to be willing and have the passion toget through it, and to know that if you want it, to take it.”Share This: REQUEST INFO VISIT CAMPUS APPLY MAKE A GIFTMap & DirectionsContact UsDirectoryNewsEventsAthleticsrwu.eduUndergraduate SiteGraduate SiteSchool of LawSchool of Continuing Studies    © 2018 Roger Williams University. All rights reserved.GMAIL AT RWU BRIDGES MY RWU IT HELP SITE POLICIES WORK AT RWUOne Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 028091-800-458-7144

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Means to Her Dreams

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