Trasi M. Watson
Senior Higher Ed Impact Manager
Trasi Watson (she/hers) is very excited to be a new Senior Higher Ed Impact Manager on the Innovation and Learning Team. Prior to joining the team, Trasi worked in higher education for over 16 years at universities, colleges and community colleges (state-side and overseas). Her student affairs work focused on college access and career services.
Trasi grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where the Blue Ridge Mountains literally extend down into backyards. When she became a single mom at 14 years old and, again at 17 years old, she and her family navigated many of the same challenges that Generation Hope scholars experience today. By 26 years old, Trasi graduated with an undergraduate degree (History) and a graduate degree (Student Personnel) from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania.
After finishing graduate school, Trasi worked at The College of William and Mary (W&M) where she developed some amazing Sistah Girl friendships. Years later in 2012, one of those friends reached out to Trasi to share Nicole’s story that was highlighted in a MSNBC social media article/video. This was the first time she learned about Generation Hope. Later, her friend shared the W&M alumni magazine article about GH, solidifying Trasi’s curiosity in GH’s unique approach to supporting teen parents. By mid-2012, after returning to Virginia from living and working overseas in Japan, Trasi reached out to GH to begin volunteering/mentoring and she’s been involved ever since. Trasi is passionate about making positive changes in the lives of teen parents, parenting students and their families by being a part of the Innovation and Learning team and the #GHFamily.
Quote:
“For everyone of us that succeeds, it's because there's somebody there to show you the way out.” — Oprah Winfrey
Why I chose this quote:
Education changed everything about my and my children’s lives. However, the American higher education system is a difficult system to navigate, even more so if no one around you has successfully completed that milestone to guide you through. Individual and systemic support is critical for us to reach a pivotal point in our society where anyone who wants to experience and complete higher education is able.
Also, Oprah was (unknowingly) my mentor. Her on-air teen parent testimony, in 1990, laid the foundation for my success. Without her sharing her story, I doubt I would have made it to college.