Bailey leads self, Black Caucus with strong will, determination

Editor's note: In honor of Women's History Month, The Daily Collegian is publishing profiles of several prominent women on campus throughout the month. Today's profile is of Nikitra Bailey, president of Black Caucus.

With a heart of gold and a sword of steel, 21-year-old Nikitra Bailey, president of Black Caucus, will graduate from the University with a degree in prelaw on May 16, a date she has engraved in her memory, as she plans to take on the world.

As a prominent woman on campus, Bailey has earned many accomplishments, which she will recall with much pride when she flings her graduation cap into the crisp air. In her four years at the University, she has re-organized Black Caucus, re-established its voice with the administration and encouraged participation in programs to culturally enrich the campus environment.

"To be considered a prominent women, I am honored and humbled," Nikitra Bailey said. "In the organization, when somebody takes notice, it makes me feel special."

During her term as president, Bailey has served Black Caucus with her very best to ensure blacks have a voice in the community, she said. Her duties include serving African American descended students, promoting programs and activities to culturally enrich the campus and meeting regularly with administration to ensure students needs are heard.

"I hope to see unity in the community where we can all meet on common ground. We all have one thing in common -- who we are," Bailey said. "Our collective conscious is more important than our differences."

Determination and ambition have always been among Nikitra Bailey's assets, said Teresa Bailey, Nikitra's mother.

"I have a great daughter," she said. "The thing that strikes me most about her is that she knows what she wants and accomplishes it. She is in many ways her worst critic."

Her role model and the person who most influenced her life is, by far, her mother, Nikitra Bailey said. She speaks of her mother with respect and admiration; she literally gets teary-eyed.

"She is everything -- my friend, my teacher, my sister and most importantly, my mother," Nikitra Bailey said. "She is truly every woman."

Even as a child, Nikitra Bailey was strong-willed, Teresa Bailey said. In the fourth grade, Nikitra Bailey submitted an essay on what she wanted to be when she grew up -- the first black attorney general.

In the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, Nikitra Bailey, the childhood tomboy, grew up in a household of two parents, four sisters and one brother. She climbed trees and jumped rope. She describes herself as a good, polite student with two or three friends at the most.

"I'm nice when people get to know me -- if they get over the wall to be my friend. I tend to have a lack of trust in people and want to protect myself," Nikitra Bailey said. "I weed out people who are not worthy of being my friend."

Often, people think of Nikitra Bailey as a rock that can handle anything, she said. But on the inside she loves having fun.

"To some Niki may seem flamboyant or outspoken, but when you get to know her on a personal level, she is sensitive and fun to be around," said Choendal Martin, vice president of Black Caucus.

Nikitra Bailey's best friend on campus, and the woman at the University that she holds in utmost esteem is Sharlene Marbury, assistant director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. She is always there as a companion to laugh with or with a shoulder to cry on, Nikitra Bailey said.

"On the exterior, (Nikitra) is a strong, black, female leader with a heart of gold," Marbury said. "I just hope I live long enough to see her leave the mark she will leave on the world."

Friends, family and school are among Nikitra Bailey's top priorities, but God comes first, she said. As a Christian, she is extremely spiritual, but not an avid church-goer.

"I believe there is a God and believe in Jesus Christ," Nikitra Bailey said. "But there is no place of worship that has ever felt comfortable for me to make it my own."

With a future as a law student and an aspiration to live her dream, she hopes to become a civil rights attorney and have a family with a husband and, maybe, one child.

"The world is very cruel, and I'm cautious about bringing a child into the world," Nikitra Bailey said. "It's hard being who we are."

As a young black women, she admires the work of two driven women in particular -- Harriet Tubman and Barbara Jordan. They took on fights for black women in this country, through difficult paths, to ensure that we would have freedom and respect, she said.

Like these women, Nikitra Bailey also hopes to leave her footprint on the world. She firmly believes in herself, her abilities and her future goals and aspirations. The motto of her Philadelphia High School for Girls best depicts Nikitra Bailey -- "She who conquers herself, conquers all."