If it happened to Ivory Berry at Illinois, odds are it happened in Room 372 of the Education Building, known at the time as the Educational Policy Studies Teaching Assistants Office.
“It was in this space where a group of Ph.D. students of color, affectionately known as ‘The Village,’ gathered at all hours of the day and night to support one another on the journey to the doctorate," says the assistant dean of George Mason's College of Education and Human Development.
“It was in this space where we witnessed the academic grind and received words of wisdom from our faculty, advanced doctoral students, alumni and each other.
“It was in this space where we grooved to the latest music blasting through our earbuds, while trying to write the perfect sentence.
“It was in this space where we birthed conference papers, dissertations, cover letters and greatness.
“It was in this space where a group of emerging scholars from different parts of the U.S. were brought together to choose community over competition and become lifelong friends … chosen family ... The Village.
“This space is sacred.”
