not all Black students are athletes

Christian, who is now 23, has always been intelligent. He was the salutatorian when he graduated from Oak Grove Lutheran School in Fargo. In 2019, he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. A talented athlete, he originally planned to attend Concordia to play football, but decided to go to the U of M last minute.

Christian wanted to concentrate on his education while learning more about people from different cultures and backgrounds. He says people always assumed he was there to play a sport because he looked athletic and was Black, and that hurt. “He worked so hard and those assumptions diminished everything that he worked for,” she says. “Christian told me that sometimes those smaller things are worse than being called the N-word or being overt. The little things start to add up and wear on you after a while.”

Even though those situations were difficult, Christian says his mother’s support helped him maintain his confidence to succeed. “She has high expectations but is still reasonable about the timeframe and believes that no matter what, we’ll get there,” he says.