Already accepted by several colleges, Waukegan High School seniors Trajhor Allen and Jeremiah McDonald cemented their choice of Xavier University of Louisiana after spending nine days on Waukegan Township’s Artis Yancey HBCU Tour and Experience over their spring break.
McDonald was in a position to choose between Xavier, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Allen’s choices were Xavier, North Carolina A&T and Loyola University in Chicago.
Both Allen and McDonald thought they wanted to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). After visiting nine HBCUs over nine days, they both knew going to a school where they were part of the majority was for them.
“It was really, really amazing,” McDonald said. “People there accepted us, and treated us like we were supposed to be there.”
“It felt good,” Allen said after visiting Howard University. “It felt like a scene from a movie.”
Allen and McDonald were among 35 students from five Lake County high schools participating in the annual Waukegan Township Artis Yancey HBCU Tour and Experience, from March 21 through 29, getting a look at nine schools in four states and the District of Columbia.
Tami Springs, an executive assistant with the township, has organized and supervised the tour for the past several years. She rode with the students and other chaperones through Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Springs said students came from Waukegan, North Chicago Community, Warren Township, Carmel Catholic and Grayslake North high schools.
Along with nine colleges and universities, Springs said they saw museums including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, as well as a few places designed to let teenagers be teenagers.
“It’s inspirational,” Springs said. “There is more of a family feel there. They made us feel like we belonged. We introduce them to HBCU life, as well as the level of education. They get to see successful people who look like them.”
In its 12th year, Springs said the tour was virtual in 2020 when COVID closed much of the country. In 2021, representatives of the schools came to Waukegan to let students know about HJBCUs available to them.
Waukegan Township Supervisor Marc Jones said in a text that the annual tour is more than a trip to other parts of the country to visit colleges. It is an opportunity to expose people considering a college education to a unique opportunity.
“We firmly believe that the Artis Yancey HBCU College Tour isn’t just a trip — it’s a transformative experience where students see themselves reflected in excellence, culture, and possibility,” Jones said. “Exposure creates access; this tour makes both possible.”
Though Allen said she is committed to Xavier, and the deadline to Howard has passed, she was so impressed that it is a potential place to transfer. During the stop there, she said many of the students were outside on the campus. They were welcoming.
“I can envision it as a place I would like to be,” Allen said. “I saw a lot of Black people striving for excellence.”
McDonald said the tour reinforced his decision to go to an HBCU, and he liked several of the schools, especially Howard. Xavier is the right place for his career plans. He wants to become a dentist, and the science program there is very good, he said.
“Xavier has graduated more Black doctors than any other school,” McDonald said.
Cameron Patterson, a junior at Warren, said after the tour, schools like Howard, Hampton University and Morgan State University are now on the list of schools where he will apply in the fall.
“They’re places where the people look like me,” Patterson said.
Among the stops on the trip, other than colleges and universities, Springs said the African American museum in Washington was a highlight for the students. They only saw a small part, but seeing the segregated lunch counter and the exhibit on Emmett Till made a strong impression.
“It was unbelievable,” Springs said. “You were able to feel you were really there. It put you there. It really gets you to wake up.”
In addition to Howard, Hampton and Morgan State, Springs said the group visited Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Norfolk State University, Virginia Union University, Central State University in Ohio, Wilberforce University in Ohio and Ohio State University.
While not a HBCU, Springs said the bus went through Columbus on the way back to Waukegan because she wanted to allow the students to see a large state school like Ohio State.
