The NEED Podcast

Southbound to Self-Belief: How HBCU Tours Transform First-Gen Students and Families

• Dr. Marcia Sturdivant • Episode 4

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What Happens During NEED’s HBCU Tours?

A bus ride can change a life when it’s built on truth, care, and possibility. We take you inside our ten-day HBCU tour—an intentional journey that prepares first‑gen students and their families, confronts hard history with compassion, and shines a light on campuses where Black excellence is the norm and belonging is built into the fabric. From early interviews and parent briefings to sunrise departures and first campus steps, we show how structure and story reshape a student’s view of college and self.

Our framework moves from Ma’afa to Ma’at—naming the realities of enslavement, Jim Crow, and systemic barriers, then lifting up wellness, reciprocity, and healing. Museum visits like the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center give students context that many have never been taught; HBCU classrooms and quads offer a living picture of resilience and achievement. The result is often emotional: tears, disbelief, and then a steady awakening. On the bus we keep talking—screening films, journaling, and holding open dialogues that turn shock into understanding and understanding into agency.

We don’t guess at impact; we measure it. Pre‑ and post‑surveys track shifts in motivation, pride, stereotype rejection, and sense of belonging. The data is consistent: students return more confident about being Black in America, clearer about their college path, and eager to apply what they’ve learned. Families gain tools to navigate applications, financial aid, and campus fit, and they become true partners in the process. If you care about college access, HBCU culture, student identity, and the power of experiential learning, this story will renew your hope—and your playbook.

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To learn more about NEED visit:
https://www.NEEDLD.org
NEED
429 Fourth Avenue, 20th FL, Suite 2000
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
412-566-2760



SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Mead Podcast, highlighting students, partners, and advocates. Presented by me and hosted by Dr. Marcia Sturdivant, President and CEO, this series highlights the impact of mentoring, philanthropy, and collaborative partnerships that empower students' triumphant entry into and progression through higher education. Whether you're applying for scholarships or supporting the mission, you'll find insights that inform, inspire, and empower.

SPEAKER_02:

From campus visits to cultural immersion, Need's HBCU tours are more than just a road trip. They're a transformational experience that opens doors and minds. Welcome back, everyone. Millie M, co-host and producer back in the studio with Dr. Marcia Servan, president and CEO of Need. How are you?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm well. How are you?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm doing well. Always a pleasure. Let's dive in. What happens during these Needs HBCU tours?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, first we begin with preparing our students to participate in the tour because we don't want to have an experience where students are just exposed without understanding what to expect. And from our region, many times our students haven't had a robust experience with diverse cultures. So we always prepare them that as we move further south, and particularly visiting the HBCUs, that there are some things that you'll see that you perhaps aren't familiar with. We begin by interviewing every student that applies for our tour so that we know that we have students who are really interested in attending our tour. And we also explain some of the history of why HBCUs exist and of course why students should seriously consider an HBCU because of the wealth of outcomes that they can provide. We talk about what institutions will visit and what to expect. Once we prepare them and have vetted our students, we certainly speak with our parents because the parents are interval in motivating their children to look at an HBCU. And many of the parents are have not had a college experience themselves, as well as you know, their children of first generation. So we prepare both the parent and the student for that. Unfortunately, a lot of our kids have never traveled out of the state of Pennsylvania, and many not out of the city of Pittsburgh. And we prepare them for, you know, what to expect when you're going south as far as weather, culture, climate, and the whole thing, as well as, you know, just staying in a hotel. Once we do all of that, we embark on our journey. And our journey begins early in the morning. We leave about six o'clock in the morning, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. And our first stop is always at an HBCU. Our intervention model includes something that we call the transformational experience. That we want students to understand the pain and suffering and the challenges that our culture, our communities have experienced. And we call that ma'afa, which is Swahili for great pain and suffering beyond human convention. That a lot of the things that you may feel while you're in school or have experienced while you're in the community is connected to ma'afa, pain and suffering. But we don't sell a gloom and doom story. That all the Ma'afa is a part of the reality of our experience as African Americans. We want to show the resilience and strength of overcoming Ma'afa. And we say that we're traveling to Ma'at. The HBCUs and these wonderful institutions filled with African American scholars is Ma'at. And Ma'at is wellness, reciprocity, healing. So we just don't show, you know, other things that have kept our folks from engaging in the whole American spirits. We want to move that, hey, we're strong people, our culture is a strong culture, and as a result, we have experience of Maud. So we start off with going to either a university, which is a Maud experience, and then we also look at some of our history. We go to a museum. Generally, it's the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio, and depending on what side of the country we start off. But we go to a museum that talks about the experience of the African experience, the enslavement, the Jim Crow experience, the civil rights movement. And students are for the first time confronted with the beginning of how Africans came to America. But we also want to show that we existed long before enslavement and the beauty of the African continent, the motherland. And many of our students did they just don't have that experience in school. They're not just not being taught what is very limited.

SPEAKER_02:

How do they typically respond? How do they typically respond to visiting these kids then?

SPEAKER_01:

It can be very emotional. We have many, many times students who will have what can I call an awakening. And it it can be very sad for our students because you know they they've never ever have experienced or have been taught that part of the history. Lots of tears, some denials. They want to talk about it, and we certainly work through that because that can be traumatic. But we feel it's a part of our responsibility to have students not confront those issues once they leave the comfort of their little neighborhoods or their homes. That you have to understand sometimes the reaction to you, it has nothing to do with you personally, but the history of your experience and how people may perceive you. And you know, we're also educators and we want to make sure that they understand the full scope of the African American experience. Okay. Well, we also, like I said, we just don't show the trauma of our experience. We show the Ma'at, the strength, the resiliency, and the triumph over all of that. So institutions, of course, all HBCs are an example of Ma'at, but also museums and historical sites where our people have just not overcome, but also have excelled. And that filters out a lot of that trauma that you have to show how you yourself are a part of the history of overcoming, of resilience, of fighting for the cause and the brilliance of the African American culture. And when they come back, there's and we test our students, we do a um a measure, a pre and post exam, to see where they stand as far as understanding stereotypical behavior or perceptions versus to what extent do they filter that out and embrace a more holistic and positive viewpoint of the African American experience. And by and large, all post-measures show a significant increase in feeling motivated, positive about being a being black in America. And we also have conversations, it's just not visiting and looking at exhibits, but all along the tour, the trip, and it's about it's 10 days, so we have a long time with these students, but we're discussing and those uh things about history. We watch videos while we're on the bus, we have activities and just open and honest discussions to say how we have overcome, so to speak, and that this resiliency and brilliance lies within you. It's just not the adults on the tour, it's not just the chaperones, but it's also in you. And it has a profound effect when people can share their personal experiences, how they mirror some of our historical experience, but also what we have done, not just as individuals, but as a community, to be where we are today. And it's one of the most rewarding things that I've done in my career is to see how our students, once given the history, and given an understanding that the light bulb really comes on and they're just you know highly motivated and see the experience as just one that's unforgettable.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, it sounds just like a beautiful transformation and just realization and a different viewpoint of their self-perception, and that is a wonderful thing that you all are doing. Thank you so much for that. And we'll see you all next time for another powerful conversation about expanding access in education.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Need Podcast. To apply for scholarships, access support, or learn how you or your organization can get involved, visit www.neadld.org. Email needph at gmail.com or call 412 566 2760. Unlocking the power of education for students, families, and the future of our region.