Women Who Influenced Me: Ms. Eva Blackwell

       If there's anything I've learned in my 30 years of living it's that teachers don't get enough credit for what they do. They don't get enough credit for the effort they put into not only educating students but also changing their lives in ways that will impact them forever. Sometimes if you meet the right teacher, that individual can change the course of your direction and guide you towards greater things that you couldn't imagine. This is the story of how one teacher did that for me, and her name is Ms. Eva Blackwell.

           It started back in the summer of 2019, when I had recently finished taking a summer course. I was applying for classes for the fall semester, and I came across an available one known as Writing for Mass Media and Ms. Eva Blackwell was the college professor teaching that course. After I signed up for the course, I came across Ms. Blackwell's background information on the Community College Canvas website. I read about her professional career in journalism, and I was thoroughly impressed with the accomplishments she achieved. It got me excited about having her as my teacher, and I couldn't wait to start my first day of class with her.

            On the first day of class back in September, I met Ms. Eva Blackwell in person for the first time. When I introduced myself, I was able to recite the information I learned about Ms. Blackwell in the class. She was so impressed by my memorization and early preparation that she gave me an A+ on the first day. For the rest of the semester, I learned many things about mass media and was given the opportunity to write multiple feature articles for the college newspaper known as The Student Vanguard. I was also introduced to some important figures in mass media during class. The first person who came to my class was C.E.O. Chairman Herman Davis, who is the Executive Director of an organization known as We Need Peace and Love. Ms. Blackwell assigned me to interview him about his company, and the article I wrote about him became a cover story for The Student Vanguard. The second person who came to my class was a veteran journalist named Stu Bykofski who was a Columnist at The Philadelphia Daily News & The Philadelphia Inquirer. Towards the end of the semester Ms. Blackwell introduced me to a non-profit organization that she's the founder of known as The Verge of Independence Project: Multimedia Autism Advocacy. It was an internship opportunity that allowed me to write monthly blogs for a year, and I was happy to accept the offer. Once I started my internship, I worked diligently to create content for the company and enjoyed the benefits that came with the process. It brought me great joy to learn about autism through online research, reading books, and watching movies related to autism. It especially brought me great joy to write blogs about my lived experiences as a self-identified autistic individual, and I realized that I didn't want the experience to end. When I spoke to Ms. Blackwell over the phone and asked her if I could have a permanent remote job position on the Verge of Independence Project team, she was happy to accept my offer, and I've been a staff writer working for the company ever since.

       In the six years that I've been working with the Verge of Independence Project organization, there have been many wonderful memories that have greatly impacted my career in journalism. I became an award-winning journalist, I've interviewed three wonderful women for the company newsletter, Ms. Blackwell was interviewed for an article in Fun Times Magazine in which the article featured a quote from me, in 2025 Ms. Blackwell received recognition from KYW News radio during a program known as Game Changers for her work and contributions to the autism community, and recently this year I’ve been recognized by the media and editorial organization Influential Women for my current work with the Verge of Independence Project: Multimedia Autism Advocacy Organization, and I’ve been a contributing member of the community ever since. There are not enough words I can express to show my gratitude to Ms. Eva Blackwell for everything I’ve been able to accomplish and become because of her, but as I continue my journalism career, I will forever keep her in my heart and she will forever be one of the greatest assets of my legacy. Thank you, Ms. Blackwell.