Southbound to Self-Belief: How HBCU Tours Transform First-Gen Students and Families

What Happens During NEED’s HBCU Tours?

A bus ride can change a life when it’s built on truth, care, and possibility. We take you inside our ten-day HBCU tour—an intentional journey that prepares first‑gen students and their families, confronts hard history with compassion, and shines a light on campuses where Black excellence is the norm and belonging is built into the fabric. From early interviews and parent briefings to sunrise departures and first campus steps, we show how structure and story reshape a student’s view of college and self.

Our framework moves from Ma’afa to Ma’at—naming the realities of enslavement, Jim Crow, and systemic barriers, then lifting up wellness, reciprocity, and healing. Museum visits like the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center give students context that many have never been taught; HBCU classrooms and quads offer a living picture of resilience and achievement. The result is often emotional: tears, disbelief, and then a steady awakening. On the bus we keep talking—screening films, journaling, and holding open dialogues that turn shock into understanding and understanding into agency.

We don’t guess at impact; we measure it. Pre‑ and post‑surveys track shifts in motivation, pride, stereotype rejection, and sense of belonging. The data is consistent: students return more confident about being Black in America, clearer about their college path, and eager to apply what they’ve learned. Families gain tools to navigate applications, financial aid, and campus fit, and they become true partners in the process. If you care about college access, HBCU culture, student identity, and the power of experiential learning, this story will renew your hope—and your playbook.

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NEED
429 Fourth Avenue, 20th FL, Suite 2000
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
412-566-2760

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
Welcome to the Mead Podcast, highlighting students,
partners, and advocates.
Presented by me and hosted byDr.
Marcia Sturdivant, President andCEO, this series highlights the
impact of mentoring,philanthropy, and collaborative
partnerships that empowerstudents' triumphant entry into
and progression through highereducation.

(00:26):
Whether you're applying forscholarships or supporting the
mission, you'll find insightsthat inform, inspire, and
empower.

SPEAKER_02 (00:42):
From campus visits to cultural immersion, Need's
HBCU tours are more than just aroad trip.
They're a transformationalexperience that opens doors and
minds.
Welcome back, everyone.
Millie M, co-host and producerback in the studio with Dr.
Marcia Servan, president and CEOof Need.
How are you?

SPEAKER_01 (00:59):
I'm well.
How are you?

SPEAKER_02 (01:02):
I'm doing well.
Always a pleasure.
Let's dive in.
What happens during these NeedsHBCU tours?

SPEAKER_01 (01:09):
Well, first we begin with preparing our students to
participate in the tour becausewe don't want to have an
experience where students arejust exposed without
understanding what to expect.
And from our region, many timesour students haven't had a

(01:30):
robust experience with diversecultures.
So we always prepare them thatas we move further south, and
particularly visiting the HBCUs,that there are some things that
you'll see that you perhapsaren't familiar with.
We begin by interviewing everystudent that applies for our

(01:51):
tour so that we know that wehave students who are really
interested in attending ourtour.
And we also explain some of thehistory of why HBCUs exist and
of course why students shouldseriously consider an HBCU

(02:12):
because of the wealth ofoutcomes that they can provide.
We talk about what institutionswill visit and what to expect.
Once we prepare them and havevetted our students, we
certainly speak with our parentsbecause the parents are interval

(02:34):
in motivating their children tolook at an HBCU.
And many of the parents are havenot had a college experience
themselves, as well as you know,their children of first
generation.
So we prepare both the parentand the student for that.
Unfortunately, a lot of our kidshave never traveled out of the

(02:56):
state of Pennsylvania, and manynot out of the city of
Pittsburgh.
And we prepare them for, youknow, what to expect when you're
going south as far as weather,culture, climate, and the whole
thing, as well as, you know,just staying in a hotel.
Once we do all of that, weembark on our journey.
And our journey begins early inthe morning.

(03:18):
We leave about six o'clock inthe morning, sometimes a little
earlier, sometimes a littlelater.
And our first stop is always atan HBCU.
Our intervention model includessomething that we call the
transformational experience.
That we want students tounderstand the pain and

(03:41):
suffering and the challengesthat our culture, our
communities have experienced.
And we call that ma'afa, whichis Swahili for great pain and
suffering beyond humanconvention.
That a lot of the things thatyou may feel while you're in
school or have experienced whileyou're in the community is

(04:05):
connected to ma'afa, pain andsuffering.
But we don't sell a gloom anddoom story.
That all the Ma'afa is a part ofthe reality of our experience as
African Americans.
We want to show the resilienceand strength of overcoming

(04:25):
Ma'afa.
And we say that we're travelingto Ma'at.
The HBCUs and these wonderfulinstitutions filled with African
American scholars is Ma'at.
And Ma'at is wellness,reciprocity, healing.
So we just don't show, you know,other things that have kept our

(04:48):
folks from engaging in the wholeAmerican spirits.
We want to move that, hey, we'restrong people, our culture is a
strong culture, and as a result,we have experience of Maud.
So we start off with going toeither a university, which is a
Maud experience, and then wealso look at some of our

(05:13):
history.
We go to a museum.
Generally, it's the UndergroundRailroad Museum in Cincinnati,
Ohio, and depending on what sideof the country we start off.
But we go to a museum that talksabout the experience of the
African experience, theenslavement, the Jim Crow

(05:34):
experience, the civil rightsmovement.
And students are for the firsttime confronted with the
beginning of how Africans cameto America.
But we also want to show that weexisted long before enslavement
and the beauty of the Africancontinent, the motherland.

(05:57):
And many of our students didthey just don't have that
experience in school.
They're not just not beingtaught what is very limited.

SPEAKER_02 (06:07):
How do they typically respond?
How do they typically respond tovisiting these kids then?

SPEAKER_01 (06:14):
It can be very emotional.
We have many, many timesstudents who will have what can
I call an awakening.
And it it can be very sad forour students because you know
they they've never ever haveexperienced or have been taught

(06:35):
that part of the history.
Lots of tears, some denials.
They want to talk about it, andwe certainly work through that
because that can be traumatic.
But we feel it's a part of ourresponsibility to have students
not confront those issues oncethey leave the comfort of their

(06:59):
little neighborhoods or theirhomes.
That you have to understandsometimes the reaction to you,
it has nothing to do with youpersonally, but the history of
your experience and how peoplemay perceive you.
And you know, we're alsoeducators and we want to make
sure that they understand thefull scope of the African

(07:21):
American experience.
Okay.
Well, we also, like I said, wejust don't show the trauma of
our experience.
We show the Ma'at, the strength,the resiliency, and the triumph

(07:45):
over all of that.
So institutions, of course, allHBCs are an example of Ma'at,
but also museums and historicalsites where our people have just
not overcome, but also haveexcelled.
And that filters out a lot ofthat trauma that you have to

(08:09):
show how you yourself are a partof the history of overcoming, of
resilience, of fighting for thecause and the brilliance of the
African American culture.
And when they come back, there'sand we test our students, we do

(08:29):
a um a measure, a pre and postexam, to see where they stand as
far as understandingstereotypical behavior or
perceptions versus to whatextent do they filter that out
and embrace a more holistic andpositive viewpoint of the

(08:53):
African American experience.
And by and large, allpost-measures show a significant
increase in feeling motivated,positive about being a being
black in America.
And we also have conversations,it's just not visiting and

(09:14):
looking at exhibits, but allalong the tour, the trip, and
it's about it's 10 days, so wehave a long time with these
students, but we're discussingand those uh things about
history.
We watch videos while we're onthe bus, we have activities and
just open and honest discussionsto say how we have overcome, so

(09:40):
to speak, and that thisresiliency and brilliance lies
within you.
It's just not the adults on thetour, it's not just the
chaperones, but it's also inyou.
And it has a profound effectwhen people can share their
personal experiences, how theymirror some of our historical

(10:01):
experience, but also what wehave done, not just as
individuals, but as a community,to be where we are today.
And it's one of the mostrewarding things that I've done
in my career is to see how ourstudents, once given the

(10:24):
history, and given anunderstanding that the light
bulb really comes on and they'rejust you know highly motivated
and see the experience as justone that's unforgettable.

SPEAKER_02 (10:38):
Well, it sounds just like a beautiful transformation
and just realization and adifferent viewpoint of their
self-perception, and that is awonderful thing that you all are
doing.
Thank you so much for that.
And we'll see you all next timefor another powerful
conversation about expandingaccess in education.

SPEAKER_01 (10:58):
Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 (11:03):
Thank you for listening to the Need Podcast.
To apply for scholarships,access support, or learn how you
or your organization can getinvolved, visit www.neadld.org.
Email needph at gmail.com orcall 412 566 2760.

(11:25):
Unlocking the power of educationfor students, families, and the
future of our region.