WASHINGTON – When Howard University alumnus Kamala Harris takes the oath of office this week, she can do so knowing she has inspired the latest generation of Howard students to dream big about what they can accomplish in politics and public service.

“The sky is the limit,” said Howard University junior Kasayah Alexis from Baltimore. “Of course, I feel proud because not only is she a Bison, she is a woman and she is of Jamaican heritage – just like I am. To see a woman who is literally just like me in the White House makes high public office seem like a more tangible goal.”

Alexis  is looking to manifest her own career in politics, as a senior policy adviser in the White House, tackling major national issues such as health care, climate change, and criminal justice reform.

Harris sparked her political ambition on Howard’s campus as a freshman with a run for representative of the Liberal Arts Student Council. Over the next few decades, she went on to break barriers as an elected leader in California.

David Edgerton, a senior in political science from St. Paul, Minnesota, said his desire to enter public service has been bolstered by Harris’ achievement. He is president of the Howard University speech and debate team, the same organization Harris participated in as an undergraduate.

 “For there to be a Bison in the White House –  nonetheless, a Black woman –  carries significant meaning to me,” Edgerton said. “Many of us hope to serve our community and one day be in the same category of Kamala Harris or Thurgood Marshall, or the other greats of Howard University.”

Peter Lubembela, a political science senior, has aspirations to be mayor of his hometown Denver one day, and said he is finding inspiration in Harris’ inauguration.

“It’s breathtaking to me,” he said. “We’ve never had a female, or Black vice president before. She manifested this at Howard University and made it happen. This motivates me to better myself, to build on the legacy and to continue to lead like so many Howard alumni.”

Kenadi Maupin, a junior studying political science from New Orleans, said the Harris win lifts her ambition. Maupin interned in the office of U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., last year. Maupin is interested in pursuing a dream of becoming a policy adviser and potentially a chief of staff in the White House one day. 

“Kamala Harris is the embodiment of what so many young Black women pursuing politics aspire to be,” Maupin said. “To know that she went to the same university that I attend, took the same types of classes as me, stayed in the same dormitories I’ve lived in — it is really inspiring to see her now becoming one of the most powerful women in the world.”

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About Howard University 

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 70 Fulbright Scholars. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu