Lifestyle | December 3rd, 2023
20 with 2 Degrees
By: Jada Pierre
Receiving a degree in four years is a great accomplishment. However, receiving a degree in four years at the age of 20 is even more remarkable. In just a few more weeks, Leila Timely will walk across the stage as the youngest member of her family to graduate from college.
Timely is a fourth-year political science and public administration student from Jacksonville, Florida, attending Florida A&M University(FAMU). After graduation, she plans to attend law school at Florida State University to become an intellectual property attorney.
During high school, she received her associate degree during her 11th and 12th-grade years, leading to her first year at FAMU as a junior instead of a freshman. She says, “It feels a bit rushed because I didn’t get the full four-year experience, but I did make the best of it while I was here.”
During her time at FAMU, Timely was active in many organizations: BFFA, J.W. Hatchett Pre-Law Society, NCNW, Inc., NAACP, and a Venom dancer. These organizations helped her have a great experience during college and prepared her for life after college.
BFFA, Black Future Female Attorneys, is an organization that helps undergraduate black women make connections and network with older people who are also in law school or are attorneys. “We connect with other black women so we can understand how to navigate our way through undergrad to make sure we’re on the right track to get to law school.” Timely says, “It helps with LSAT prep, law school applications, how to get legal internships or work with the capital.”
J.W. Hatchett is another organization that has helped prepare Timely career-wise; it focuses on supporting all black students wanting to work in law. She also believes that NCNW, the National Council of Negro Women, and the NAACP, the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People, have given her skills to help the betterment of African-Americans, their community, and their families.
Breanna Brantley has been friends with Timley since her first year, and she explains how her graduation truly inspires her. “I feel so proud of her. It’s an amazing accomplishment that not many can’t do.” Brantley says, “It motivates me to see my FAMU experience out. Seeing her take her graduation pictures honestly brought a tear to my eye because it was just a beautiful moment.”
Timely also shared that her mother is one of her biggest inspirations because she is hardworking and independent. She says, “She just shows me how to make sure I’m navigating through life by upholding myself very well, being nice to people, but being stern when you need to.”
Her mom is also thrilled with her graduating two years early because of how much their family could save financially and the time Timely has after graduation. “Getting a head start in life gives me a lot of wiggle room to make sure I know what I want to do and make sure I know exactly where I want to go because it’s not a rush. I’m still on track, but I’m ahead, so that gives me time to figure myself out.”, Timely says.
Timely is ultimately grateful for the lifelong friends she has met. She says. “I feel like I met more people and more real friends in my short time in college than in my four years of high school.” She explains that FAMU is totally different from her high school experience because she relates to this university differently.
Lastly, Timley states that attending FAMU has made her realize that this university is truly a family because it was easy to find people who resonated with her and connect with them. Timely also emphasizes how this institution is culturally advanced. There are so many different types of black people.” Timely says, “It’s not just one type of black person.” FAMU has contributed to finding Timley’s people while also finding herself; for that, she is genuinely grateful.
