You got on the bus as I was on my way home from class. Your 9th-grade class was attending an Ohio State Scholars college visit. Your class was so large you took up all the seats on the bus and most of the standing room.

I gave up my seat so that you and your friends could sit together and didn't have to try to fight the bus's momentum as it turned the sharp corners. I know that it takes some time to get used to and that staying standing takes some serious arm strength.

I asked what you all wanted to be when you grew up. I knew that on college visits, even as a senior, the students seemed so much older. They are adults: living without their parents and navigating the complicated world on their own.

Your answers shocked me. You wanted to be a surgeon, a veterinarian, a pediatrician, and a criminal behavior specialist.

I thought back to when I was in ninth grade; I wanted to be a psychiatrist. (I took AP biology sophomore year and quickly changed my mind.) But no one ever told me I couldn't do it. I got scoffs and laughs from some boys in my class, but in the environment that I grew up in it was very typical for the girls to be smart.

It was easy to conclude that maybe you were not growing up in the same world. You were young, black women who spoke with an inner-city dialect, and I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) you could not pull $25,000+/year out of your bank account. I know I can't.

But that should not stop you from coming here. I probably told you about 5 times, "work hard and don't give up." I spent the bus ride from east to west campus pointing out cool buildings and explaining how the meal plan and bus system worked. I wanted you to feel as at home at Ohio State as I have. When we drove past the Wexner Medical Center, I told you, "One day you'll all get to work in there." The smile on your faces were ones of pure, uninhibited joy.

Perhaps it is the advocate for social equality in me. Maybe my "naive" liberal views got the best of me. But you girls clearly have the drive, and there is no reason you should be unable to receive a quality higher education. My heart broke when I thought of all the parents, friends, teachers, and counselors along the way that would tell you that you couldn't do it.

So here I am telling you that you can do it. Telling you it's going to be hard, and you might want to quit. Don't. Stay focused and work hard to not get sidetracked by drugs, crime, and people who don't have goals as high as you do. High school is hard. It's easy to feel lost or lose sight of what you're working towards. The Ohio State University is an awesome school. If you all work together and work hard, there is no reason you can't come here too.

Sincerely,

The girl with dreams just as big as yours