Senior Reflection | Matthew Nails
Things I’ve Learned being Black at a PWI
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Matthew Nails
eniors, families, friends and current Emory students, we have proven once again just how resilient we are. As we celebrate the class of 2022, I want to celebrate each of you as well. The ending of this academic school year marks another year that Emory students have worked to further their education with the support of their family and friends, so congratulations to all of us. Being a part of the Class of 2022 has brought about many different experiences and lessons. The first: always advocate for yourself. My parents taught me at a young age that “closed mouths don’t get fed” and always encouraged me to “speak my truth.” I lost my ability to advocate for myself along the way to college because my parents always ensured that I had everything that I needed. They were my advocates. But as we grow, we have to learn to rely and trust in ourselves as well. We left our families to pursue a better future and have to do everything in our power to achieve what we set out for. I vividly
remember emailing my teacher letting her know that I was not as prepared for my exam due to personal matters, and she granted me an extension and reminded me that I should be proud of advocating for myself. The next important lesson I learned was to be adaptable. Many of us have our perfect four-year plan when we get here. We know what we want to major in or what we want to do with our lives. But when we experience life for ourselves, our passions and focuses change and we have to be open to that. For me, I always imagined graduating and immediately going into medical school, but COVID-19 reminded me
friends. We finally came back as seniors and got to experience some version of normal only in the past few weeks. We are the first group of students to return to a traditional Emory graduation on the Quad. It has been challenging to adjust to the world of Zoom then again to in-person learning, but we persevered, adapted to each situation and grew because of it. The final lesson that I learned was to be honest with your mental and emotional status. Life happens — oh, how I know life happens. In 2016, I lost my sweet baby brother, Major Luke Nails, a few hours after birth. It was a very trying time. I was trying to hold back my own feelings because I, myself, was worried about my parents. I had to learn that holding back these sorts of emotions isn’t healthy and they fester into depression and negativity. We have to find the people we feel comfortable with and let them know where we are at. Even during my college experience, I have lost loved ones and had to advocate for myself and let my teachers know, “I need another week before I can take this exam,” “I need to miss class today to gather myself” and more. I always remind people that you should always take the risk and ask for the things you need. Even if they say no, your situation is no different from where you already were, so you have nothing to lose. This experience is everything that you make it. Take charge of that and take charge of this private education by fighting for what you need and want to see.
“We have to find the people we feel comfortable with and let them know where we are at.” how quickly life can go, so I decided that I wanted to give myself more time to re-energize and spend quality time with my family first. We can’t just go on a path we don’t enjoy because we always thought that was what we wanted to be or study. In the same manner, adaptability showed up for the Class of 2022 as we were partway through the spring semester of our sophomore year. It was difficult not being able to give proper goodbyes to our senior friends and not knowing that those improper goodbyes would also be for our junior
Matthew Nails, a Georgia native (Loganville, GA), has served as the President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.’s Mu Alpha Chapter, the National PanHellenic Council, and the 2018-2019 Eagle Hall RHA, Vice-President of the Emory NAACP, Alpha Psi Omega Theater National Honor Society, and Voices of Inner Strength Gospel Choir (VOIS) and the Music Director of AHANA A Cappella. Additionally, Nails is an executive board member of the Black Student Alliance, a member of the Peer Review Board, Phi Delta Epsilon Pre-Medical Fraternity and Emory University’s Concert Choir.Nails has been involved with various theater productions on campus, the most notable being Nails directing “Marie and Rosetta,” the first fully Black undergraduate production at Emory. Nails has been awarded with the NAACP Image Award for Entertainer of the Year, the 100 Senior Honorary and the Dobbs Honors Society (the highest recognition for RAs). Upon graduation, Nails will join the Metro-Atlanta Corps for Teach for America before attending medical school.
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