Dr. Rosalind Reaves
Dr. Rosalind Reaves joined Oakland Community College in 2008 and serves as faculty for the Academic Support Center (ASC) at the Royal Oak Campus. During her tenure, she established four endowed scholarships to support the academic achievement and educational attainment of OCC students.
Regarding her first endowment, established in 2018, she writes:
It is often said that “it takes a village to raise a child.” In my case, the proverbial village was the place where I was born and bred: Detroit, my beloved “Motown” and “Motor City”.
The Dr. Rosalind Reaves-Detroit Legacy Endowed Scholarship was created to pay tribute to the city of my birth and to honor OCC students from Detroit who share a commitment to academic excellence and community service. I hope that each scholarship recipient, upon completion of their studies at OCC, will pay it forward and undertake the kind of giving back and service that inspired me as a Detroiter.
Regarding her second endowment, established in 2018, she writes:
For as long as I can remember, my dream had been to explore the world, to travel to distant lands—most especially Africa, thanks in part to the work of Alex Haley, the author of Roots. This dream was realized first in 1993 and then again in 1997, with opportunities to teach Form 3 (9th Grade) English in the Gambia, West Africa, and Introduction to Special Education at Montfort College in Malawi, in southeast Africa. Both experiences were profoundly life-changing, to say the very least.
I often begin my College Success Skills courses with a brief introduction highlighting my living and teaching experiences abroad. This introduction often includes the more noteworthy observations of my time in the Gambia and Malawi-observations that most impressed me as a novice teacher. I recount, for instance, the prodigious work ethic of my students, who frequently requested additional lessons after school and on the weekends. I comment, too, on the passion and enthusiasm with which they approached their studies, and their fierce determination to achieve— this, despite a paucity of basic resources. Finally, I share how inspired I was by their example, how their work ethic, passion and determination challenged my assumptions about human potential. Indeed, if my experiences in Africa taught me anything, it was that the possibilities are limitless, that we are all capable of much more than we believe, and that academic achievement is attainable under the most adverse circumstances.
These profound life lessons serve as the inspiration for the Dr. Rosalind Reaves-Africa Legacy Endowed Scholarship. The qualities I observed then, as a novice teacher, are abundantly in evidence today in the international students whom I often have the pleasure of teaching and mentoring here at Oakland Community College. In establishing this scholarship, I wish to recognize their single-minded dedication to academic and personal excellence, and to honor those who achieve in spite of considerable odds. In the end, it is my hope that this scholarship inspires the recipient to continue this virtuous cycle of giving back and thus paying it forward.
Regarding her third endowment, established in 2020 in light of the , she writes:
The Southfield/Oak Park Academic Recognition (SOAR) Endowed Scholarship was established to honor graduates of Southfield or Oak Park high schools and to support their educational attainment at Oakland Community College. Upon completion of their studies, it is the ultimate vision of this scholarship that recipients will pay it forward and deploy their education in service to their community.
And lastly, regarding her fourth endowment, established in 2022, she writes:
The 2020 Social Justice Commemorative Endowed Scholarship was conceived in 2020 in the wake of a worldwide movement aimed at exposing systemic racism and advancing social justice. This scholarship is intended to recognize OCC students who engage in activism on behalf of social justice causes and to support their educational attainment in preparation for a life of advocacy and service.