Hello, there. My name is Wanda Jean-Pierre. A six-foot-three, dark-skinned, lean and athletic young Black woman of Haitian descent living in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts. I'm a student at Avery Scott College, a small historically Black four-year school located in downtown Brockton. I major in medicine. The story I'm about to share with you involves how I met my future husband and got over the one that got away. I love my man. He's the love of my life. I worship the ground he walks on. We met at a time of change both for the college we attended and our personal lives.
The face of Avery Scott College was changing, and I wasn't sure I liked it. My parents, Alexander and Vonette Jean-Pierre met while studying in the library. More than twenty years ago. I'd hate for the school to change so much demographically and ideologically that they won't recognize it anymore. Twenty-seven percent of the student body of this historically Black school is of Caucasian descent this year. Students of African-American, Haitian, Jamaican, North African and Cape Verdean descent make up the remaining seventy three percent. You don't see a lot of white schools seriously trying to diversify their student body, that's all I'm saying. They usually only do it for the sake of appearances. Don't argue with my logic or insult my intelligence, people. You know I'm right.
My favorite school was changing, and the changes were really apparent in the Athletic Department. Originally, we competed in Football, men's Baseball, women's Softball, men's and women's Swimming, men's and women's Basketball, men's and women's Cross Country and men's and women's Volleyball. This year, they added men's Ice Hockey, women's Lacrosse, men's and women's Golf and men's and women's Track and Field. I sure as hell hope they don't start to neglect our original varsity teams. Avery Scott College is a sixty-year-old institution. Originally dedicated to the education of African-Americans. Let's not deviate from our mission. Thanks to the school's diversity efforts, there are lots of young men on campus this year. They make up forty nine percent of the nine-thousand-person student body. Now that's a welcome change in my eyes.
The first time I saw Marcus Simon, I thought he was fine. A six-foot-five, lean and muscular, good-looking Black stud. He was mixed, I could tell. His father James Simon is Haitian-American. He's a Massachusetts State Police officer. Marcus is really proud of his dad, and his mother Aria Sanchez is a Mexican-American teacher. I didn't usually go for light-skinned guys or biracial guys but this dude looked good. Even more impressive is the fact that he spoke Haitian Creole as fluently as I did. Marcus told me his parents made sure he embraced both sides of his heritage. The guy appreciated fine Haitian-made meals like rice and beans as well as Mexican tortillas. I had to respect that.
I'm captain of the Avery Scott College women's Volleyball team, and we won an NCAA Division Two Championship during my first year and my second year. I hope we can do just as well this year. Soon I'm going to be a senior. This is my next to final year leading the team. The rookies had better prove themselves worthy, or else. This year three white chicks and an Asian broad tried out for the previously all-Black women's Volleyball team. The Asian chick and one of the white chicks made it. That white chick's name was Cheryl Watson. She was blonde, skinny, ambitious as hell and wanted my spot. I can't stand that type of woman. And the Asian chick, Amelia Chang, definitely had an attitude problem. I had to watch these two. Can't have anybody trying to take what's mine.
Please don't get it twisted. Defending what's yours is what this life is all about. I heard from my cousin Ashley, star of the Avery Scott College women's swimming team, that two white chicks joined the team. The team was previously made up exclusively of African-American and Hispanic chicks. Times are changing at Avery Scott College. However, I don't have to like it. Now, I don't have a problem with the newcomers trying out for our teams. If they're talented, they might be an asset to said teams. Now, they have to remember that this is our school and these are our teams. Let them be respectful and don't act like they own the place.
Let's move on to better things. The sexy stud known as Marcus Simon was in my sociology class. He's one of eight males in a class of twenty people. As luck would have it, Cheryl ended up in the class. And she clearly wanted Marcus Simon. I'll be damned if I let that white chick get her hooks into the sexiest brother on campus. Still, that witch had me worried. Marcus Simon is on the all-new Men's Ice Hockey team. He's one of a few brothers I know who play this sport. There are three other Black guys, one Asian guy and one Hispanic dude on the team, the rest are white guys. I'm not really into ice hockey. It's not the kind of sport you could pay me to watch. It simply doesn't interest me.