As a partnership associate for Ed Advancement, Brian Thompson oversees projects, relationships, and other program elements to advance the organization’s support of partner HBCUs. Brian’s professional journey includes serving as a financial aid verification specialist at Prairie View A&M University. In this role, he provided valuable guidance to both prospective and current students, addressing a range of financial aid matters related to school expenses. His responsibilities encompassed aiding students throughout the application and award process. Prior to his tenure at Prairie View A&M University, Brian played a pivotal role as a College Readiness Manager within the Houston Independent School District. During this time, he made a significant impact by assisting seniors in securing more than 7 million dollars in scholarships and grants. These resources proved instrumental in alleviating the financial burdens associated with higher education costs. Brian proudly holds a trio of degrees from Prairie View A&M University. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies, a Master’s in Education Administration, and a Master’s in Counseling.
Staff Conversations
What was it that made you believe an HBCU would be the right fit for you? Both as a place to get your own education as well as in your professional contributions?
Brian: There’s a long list of HBCU alumni who I look up to. I would look up the backgrounds of those people I admired when I was younger. I saw that HBCUs were producing the caliber of people I looked up to. [For example,] I am a huge sports fan, and although sometimes HBCUs don’t get credit for the people they help produce, like Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Michael Strahan…we see their upward mobility and how great they’ve been. And there are HBCU alumni like that in all fields, even though a lot of people don’t realize they came through HBCUs. We produce a large percentage of Black leaders in our nation.
A lot of the heroes I looked up to came through an HBCU at some point as well. Even if it wasn’t advertised.
And we can’t forget about Black entertainment. In our age bracket, coming of age in the 1990s, you would watch shows like Martin, Living Single, A Different World, and the Cosby Show, and see HBCUs strongly represented. So of course that influenced me as well.
That’s a great point. Back then, when several Black shows were finally breaking into primetime television, there was an emphasis put on showing stories about socially mobile Black people.
Yes. And there was a focus on legacy, too. Like on the Cosby Show, even though Hilman was an imaginary HBCU (but not to us, laughs), there was still a message about introducing your children to that legacy of HBCUs and encouraging them to follow that path.
I grew up in east Texas, so we had Wiley and Jarvis as local HBCUs, and I remember having teachers that either went to those schools or other HBCUs in Texas, and talked about them to us students.
Exactly. And I just did not see alumni from a lot of PWIs representing with such pride like that. If they did, they were probably athletes or talking mostly about athletics, but not the overall experience they got from the school.
I can personally relate to that. I went to a PWI, and I don’t talk about it much. The education I got was fine. But after my first semester, I was looking to transfer because I did not fit in and it was hard to find the support I needed. What ended up keeping me there was making the choice to join a historically Black fraternity. That gave me a small community on campus and was the reason I made it through.
You needed your community around you. And you found a way to get that through Greek life, which is great. You mentioned you grew up in east Texas – a lot of my family is from Mt. Pleasant [in northeast Texas], and my dad is military and from the Amarillo/Snyder area, so more west Texas. I didn’t get the college influence from my family because that wasn’t their experience, so a lot of it came from those other cultural influences which is what ultimately led me to an HBCU.
You were making connections which shows how powerful the representation and the community of HBCUs were. What about your life post-graduation? I know you have multiple degrees from Prairie View and have served students in a few different capacities during your career. How did you decide on the pathway you wanted to take professionally?
I went back and forth during my journey. Early on I wanted to be an educator, and could see myself being a principal one day. I enjoyed teaching social studies for a couple of years, then I got my masters in education administration. When I had to shadow a principal for one of my classes, I started to see the amount of politics involved with that role. So I started noticing that the counselor role was actually the most attractive to me – they would see all the students and have the best relationships with them. So I said to myself, being a counselor will let me have the impact I want to have. I can touch the lives of countless students.
I was considering doing a Ph.D. after my M.Ed., but I had already completed some requirements for a counseling masters and I felt it might be a better fit. Teaching got away from me – I loved the kids, but we were required to teach to the test so much, and I didn’t feel like I was putting anything into them that was going to be long-lasting. So I had a friend who was doing financial aid counseling who I talked with, and I ended up becoming a financial aid counselor. After that, I became a college readiness counselor in the Houston Independent School District. I worked with 15 high schools in HISD, mostly Black high schools, so I got the opportunity to expand my impact and my skill set. And to tie it back to where we started, I ended up counseling my HISD kids to consider attending HBCUs!
We have a lot in common in our stories. I followed a similar path from teaching, to graduate school, to college readiness counseling. What I realized during my time in those roles is how critical it is to address the whole set of student needs for them to be successful – not just academic, but socioemotional also.
Yes. So many kids deal with so many challenges before they even think about school. Food insecurity, not having clean clothes, taking care of younger siblings…those kinds of experiences have to be dealt with. I couldn’t address those things that much as a teacher, but as a counselor I could do a little more. We are so quick to judge students off their grades, sometimes with no concept of all the things they are dealing with.
What have you seen in your role at Ed Advancement working with HBCUs, in terms of where they are most successful as well as areas of growth?
The thing I believe HBCUs do extremely well is provide a nurturing environment, a place to explore your identity and your culture without being judged. Growing out your locs, having your twist-outs…even having a grill (laughs). You know how we are in Texas – that’s just a piece of jewelry or a style, it doesn’t mean you are a thug. So being able to explore who you are with people who understand. You also make connections with faculty and staff at all levels and feel more like a big family. [At other institutions I experienced,] they were not reaching out at all, or making any efforts to pull you in if you needed that. One of the people I admired most at Prairie View was a woman named Ms. Pat – she was a cafeteria worker who always looked out for us. She was the type of person to be a mom to everyone – [when she passed,] 300 people from Prairie View alone attended her funeral.
She made an impact – bless her. I think it’s in the trust. People really have your back; they’re not trying to game you or use you, but truly want to help you.
Yes. As for growth, I want to continue seeing growth in customer service. And being able to accommodate certain students’ needs…like housing for example. As interest in HBCUs increases even more right now, I want them to be able to support the needs of all the new students they are attracting. I don’t want the students or the colleges to miss out on maximizing their potential.
If you could debunk one myth about HBCUs, what would it be and why?
I want to debunk the myth that HBCUs offer a lesser education. HBCUs provide rigorous academics and produce highly capable graduates who excel in various fields. As an HBCU graduate, I feel I could go all the way to Harvard and be successful. And if we look at the stats on success and social mobility for Black people – [many of those who become] doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. graduated from HBCUs, and earn more throughout their lifetimes.
To close out, what is one accomplishment of yours that you are especially proud of?
In my educational journey, my greatest accomplishment is becoming a first generation college graduate. My proudest achievement is being a father.
Thank you, Brian!