Nailah Starks is a junior English major from Amite, Louisiana. She chose Dillard University for its appreciation and culture of the humanities. Nailah decided to pursue English because she has always had a passion for teaching, reading, and writing. When she graduates Dillard, she is planning on attending an alternative teaching certification program.

Nailah’s hobbies include writing, reading, spending time with family, learning how to cook, making charm bracelets, taking trips, and watching a good movie or series. Her poetry has been published in the 2019 Appelley Rising Stars Collection and the 2020 Upon Arrival Anthology. Her personal mission statement is to educate, influence, transform, and inspire those who face adversity through her teachings, writings, and personal experiences.

A quote that she strives to live by daily is, “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence.” ~Frederick Douglass

Nailah was a student artist participant in Inspiring Health Justice: A Collaborative Art-Science Scholar-in-Residence Program.