Angelou Ezeilo
Greening Youth Foundation
Atlanta, GA USA
"If you’re going to be a trailblazer, you must be your authentic self. You’ll get lost otherwise."
Career Roadmap
Angelou's work combines: Environment & Nature, Entrepreneurship, and Upholding a Cause and Belief
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
So many people believe that the best way forward is to take a linear path into your career field. Even our parents—who only want the best for us—will tell us that we need to pick something and stick to it. But that doesn't have to be the case. My path took multiple twists and turns. My advice is to embrace all of that. You never know what path is going to be your path. The detours may not actually be detours—they may end up being your path. But you won't know that until you experience it.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Mount Saint Mary Academy
Bachelor's Degree
English Language and Literature, General
Spelman College
Doctorate
Law
University of Florida College of Law
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
I was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
2.
I knew from a young age that I loved the outdoors—I often got the chance to take a break from my urban city and spend summers at my family’s 54-acre plot of land in upstate New York.
3.
I was striving to become a famous actress, but my plans took a turn when my parents decided I needed to move to the South and transfer to Spelman College, an all-women school.
4.
While studying for my bachelor’s degree, I took a family member’s advice and changed my major from drama to English, which I’d be able to apply to many career fields if I wanted to.
5.
I realized I wanted to go into a career field that would allow me to impact the world, so I decided to go to law school.
6.
While practicing corporate law as an attorney for the State of New Jersey, I realized that it wasn’t quite the right fit for me.
7.
I transitioned to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and worked on farmland preservation.
8.
After feeling lonely as one of very few Black women in my field, I started the Greening Youth Foundation, which provides opportunities in conservation and sustainability for underrepresented youth.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You need to pick something and stick to it. Your career path should be linear.
How I responded:
So many people believe that the best way forward is to take a linear path into your career field. Even our parents—who only want the best for us—will tell us that we need to pick something and stick to it. But that doesn't have to be the case. My path took multiple twists and turns. My advice is to embrace all of that. You never know what path is going to be your path. The detours may not actually be detours—they may end up being your path. But you won't know that until you experience it.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
When I first started Greening Youth Foundation, the financials were a big hardship. I made it a priority to make sure our interns and employees were being paid and sacrificed my personal finances while we got up and running.
Starting a company while balancing my roles as a wife and mother was very stressful. The stress got to be so much that I eventually had a stroke. Stress is very powerful. Whatever is causing stress in our lives, we need to find a way to balance it.