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After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Howard University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, Aisha Miles has been working for the past year at Achievement First as a Behavior Specialist. As a psychological counselor, Aisha helps those with disabilities or problems that impair learning or social functions to succeed in school and in life.
Achievement First is a growing network of non-profit, high-performing, college-preparatory, K to 12 public charter schools in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island. The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America's children.
During her years at Howard University, Aisha was a member of the Psi Chi International Honor Society, Beta Kappa Chi National Scientific Honor Society, The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She also served as secretary of a college-prep mentor organization called CHILL (acronym for College Has Its Life Lessons) that was based on the Howard campus.
Aisha also volunteered at Thrive DC, a local charity that works to prevent and end homelessness by providing vulnerable individuals with a comprehensive range of services to help stabilize their lives. During Aisha’s summer breaks at Howard University, she worked at the Children's Learning Centers of Fairfield County as a substitute teacher. The year prior to beginning her studies at Howard, Aisha worked locally as a substitute teacher at Bright Minds Daycare.
Howard University is a highly regarded HBCU school in Carver’s world. This is a culturally diverse, comprehensive, research intensive and historically Black private university that provides an educational experience of exceptional quality at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels to students of high academic standing and potential, with particular emphasis upon educational opportunities for Black students.
There are many ways for a student to become a lifelong and beloved member of the Carver community. Aisha served as a Carver volunteer during her high school years. She helped our younger students after school at the Carver Community Center with their homework and tutored others. She also helped organize special events. Being close to Carver program leaders and as a peer with many of our young people at the time, Carver programs like our overnight College Bootcamp experience helped to shape Aisha’s college aspirations. “I believe Carver is what ultimately pushed me further into the ‘college-bound’ mindset and motivated me to attend an HBCU,” Aisha recently shared with us.
Aisha attended New Canaan Country School from kindergarten to ninth grade. She then attended Trinity Catholic High School from her sophomore to senior year and graduated with a 3.91 overall GPA.
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the United States has measured its impact in terms of the many thousands of lives lost, the number of hospital beds in use, the millions of jobs that have vanished or businesses that have closed. Meanwhile, Aisha is addressing the toll that the crisis is exacting on our youth, particularly the most vulnerable. This is a transformative and disruptive moment in education that threatens the success of a generation. Aisha’s work is more critical now than ever. As sobering as these times are, Aisha’s energizing example of excellence mirrors Carver mission and brings help and hope to the students she is reaching today with her skills and caring.