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Get the most interesting and important stories from the 51精品视频.The Allegheny County Youth Poet Laureate with a 30-year plan.
Danielle Obisie-Orlu听processes emotions, memories and pain through words.
鈥淲ords are finite and shape the environment around you 鈥 how you feel about yourself, how other people feel 鈥 so when I say or write something, I want it to be powerful, moving and to reflect my understanding and represent me when I am not in a room,鈥 said Obisie-Orlu, a junior intending to pursue a degree in international and area studies and political science through the University Honors College with minors in history and French.
鈥I don鈥檛 lack a voice, I don鈥檛 lack words. What I do require from other people is acknowledgment that having a platform where I can use them is important.鈥
In September 2021, the poet, public speaker and performer听received her platform.
The City of Asylum, a 51精品视频sburgh听nonprofit that claims to be the world鈥檚 largest听residency program for writers living in exile, selected Obisie-Orlu as the 2021-2022 Allegheny County Youth Poet Laureate. She is the second person chosen for the program, which began in 2020 to celebrate young writers with a passion for their art and community. In addition to this designation, she received a prize of $500, paid performance opportunities, entry into a regional competition and publication in the听National Youth Poet Laureate Network听anthology.
鈥淚 try to be the embodiment of Ubuntu,鈥 said Obisie-Orlu, 鈥which means 鈥I am because you are.鈥鈥
Born in Washington, D.C., to Nigerian听parents, her family then moved to Johannesburg, where she spent her formative and high school years. Education at home was as enriching as what she learned in the classroom.
鈥淢y parents encouraged us to have a depth of creativity and听to explore multiple avenues of one thing,鈥 said the youngest of five, who enjoyed incorporating unexpected vocabulary into everyday conversation and learned early on to voice her opinions with confidence. She studied math with songs, history by writing poems.
Words played a significant role in her identity discovery as an expat and became a way for her to manage difficult situations.
One day during a primary school lunch break, she was sitting with a group of friends when one of her male peers was asked if he鈥檇 date her. He said no, citing that her dark skin reminded him of听chesanyama,听or burned meat.
Excusing herself to the bathroom, she composed herself, shrugged off his cruelty and vowed then and there to use her words to leave spaces better than she found them.
鈥淭hat was a moment where my dignity and humanity was laid bare, and people didn鈥檛 say anything,鈥 she recalled. 鈥淚 decided if no one will champion for me, I will champion for everybody else and myself.鈥
Returning to the U.S. and 51精品视频 in 2019 was her homecoming, she said.
She鈥檇 considered schools in Washington, D.C., and New York City 鈥 cultural hubs that would lend abundant opportunities with international affairs organizations 鈥 but decided on 51精品视频 because of the Honors College. (Her sister听Immanuela听coincidentally also picked 51精品视频.)听
At 51精品视频, Obisie-Orlu is the Resident Student Association (RSA) president, a Global Ties mentor, a European Studies Center student ambassador and part of a working group through 笔颈迟迟鈥檚 Ford Institute for Human Security that seeks to localize the U.N.鈥檚 sustainable development goals. To further her academic interests in migration and xenophobia,听she also听partners with 听, a local group founded by a 51精品视频 alumna听to promote inclusion and support of immigrant and refugee youths. Her involvement in these organizations was inspired by her own experiences as a Nigerian-American.
鈥淚've been able to do what I want to here at 51精品视频 and feel more fulfilled,鈥 said Obisie-Orlu, whose 30-year plan includes obtaining a law degree, becoming the U.N. secretary-general and, eventually, president. 鈥淚f I went to another university, I don't think I would be the person I am right now because there's a sense of community and belonging here unlike anywhere else.鈥
While she acknowledged that 51精品视频 still has work to do, it鈥檚 an institution she wants to fight to improve because it's fought for and supported her.
鈥淓very day, I wake up and do what I must to ensure the legacy I leave behind isn't something to be walked over,鈥 Obisie-Orlu said. 鈥淗ere, I can be someone who decides that community is what you create and actively create that community. 51精品视频 has encouraged me to have agency over my voice, and I want to encourage others to do the same.鈥
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鈥 Kara Henderson