Antonio Brodie Jr. (MBA ’22) took a moment to reflect on his first few weeks at Darden, his hopes for the future, and some of the challenges and triumphs he’s had in his time here.

Two weeks in and that feeling of joy started to slowly fade away. I started to feel the pressures of being black at one of the most prestigious MBA programs in the world. The feeling of severe inadequacy and self-doubt overpowered my optimistic spirit when I didn’t see or hear many people that looked like me. A typical day at Darden, I saw 1 or 2 who identified as African-American – can you imagine that? Can you imagine feeling like the spokesperson for the entire race in class when it’s only you to speak up on black’s behalf? Can you imagine hearing 100 different perspectives that doesn’t include the very community you grew up in? Well for me, this was my reality.

Read more about Antonio’s journey via his post on Linked In