A Fresh Start Far From Home
Photo courtesy of Zaire Boatright
Zaire Boatright Clark Atlanta University alum
Zaire Boatright, Clark Atlanta University alum (2026).
Zaire Boatright grew up in Milwaukee his whole life. When it came time for college, he wanted something new.
“I wanted a fresh start,” Boatright said. “I wanted, you know, not to be confined in my city for the rest of my life. I want to explore new things.”
Boatright applied to several Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, and picked Clark Atlanta University. He graduated in 2024 with a degree in business marketing and a minor in psychology. Now 24, he works as a commercial development associate for Bristol-Myers Squibb in Princeton New Jersey.
“I knew it was the best decision for me,” Boatright said. “I knew it would help me excel in my career, excel in my life path, like it just had me burst out of this bubble.”
He’s not the only one. Across the country, Milwaukee students are turning down schools in Wisconsin for HBCUs, saying it’s about more than a degree — it’s about finding a community that feels like home.
Finding Sisterhood And Family
Photo courtesy of Wy'yana Adams
Wy'yana Adams - Spelman College student
Wy'yana Adams, sophmore at Spelman College (2026).
Wy’yana Adams and Taelor Banks are both 19 and sophomores at Spelman College in Atlanta. Both grew up in Milwaukee.
For Banks, a political science major, the decision came down to one visit.
“When I visited and being able to go to Spellbound and being able to see the connection and sisterhood that Spelman had,” Banks said. “I felt like I wouldn’t be able to get that connection and sisterhood with any other school, specifically black sisterhood.”
Adams, a health science major on the pre-med track, said the network feels like family, with students working closely with nearby schools like Morehouse, Clark Atlanta and Morris Brown College.
“Being surrounded by black women and people who are like-minded and have the same goals as you is really empowering,” Adams said.
Photo courtesy of Taelor Banks
Taelor Banks - Spelman College student
Taelor Banks, sophomore at Spelman College (2026).
Banks said HBCUs also open doors that aren’t always easy to find elsewhere, pointing to groups like the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), which offer scholarships, internships and networking events built just for HBCU students.
“They really make sure that like, you are here and you are going to succeed,” Banks said. “Even if you get told no a few times, which you will … you will get that yes, and it’s going to change your life.”
A Father’s Dream, A Son’s Path
Photo courtesy of Jaiden L Alvarado-Jones
Jaiden L Alvarado-Jones - Morehouse University Student
Jaiden L Alvarado-Jones, sophomore at Morehouse University (2026).
For Jaiden L. Alvarado-Jones, the road to Morehouse wasn’t planned for years. The Milwaukee native got in just two weeks before move-in day, with help from track coach Christopher Doomes.
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Alvarado-Jones, 19, is now a sophomore studying business finance with a minor in public health. He said going to Morehouse was his father’s dream for him.
“My father didn’t actually go to college till later on in his life,” Alvarado-Jones said.
Alvarado-Jones pays for school with outside scholarships, including one as a Kappa Boulé Scholar through the fraternity Sigma Pi Phi.
Now he helps other Milwaukee students find their own path, speaking to students from schools across the city, including Rufus King, Barack Obama School of Career and Technical Education, and Marshall High School.
“I would tell them my experience going to Morehouse College was nothing short of amazing,” Alvarado-Jones said. Students who can’t get into a large HBCU shouldn’t give up, he added smaller HBCUs often offer more scholarship money.
Looking Toward The Future
Each student has a clear plan for what comes next.
Alvarado-Jones hopes to earn a master’s in public health from Harvard, Howard or Johns Hopkins University, then open adult family homes and work in health care, along with real estate, following his family’s footsteps.
Banks wants to become a sports and entertainment lawyer, representing Black athletes, entertainers and musicians.
“I really want to be able to just hone down on that and be able to represent them and make sure they are treated fairly, paid fairly, things like that,” Banks said.
Adams wants to become a practicing neuroradiologist, a doctor who studies the brain and nervous system through imaging a goal she said is personal, after her grandmother died from ALS, a disease that affects the brain and muscles.
Spelman has helped her explore that path, connecting students with medical schools like Morehouse School of Medicine and Emory University. She is also part of the Health Careers Club and a sports entertainment collective on campus.
Why It Matters
These students all made the same choice: leave Wisconsin for something they felt was missing at home. For some, it was sisterhood. For others, family legacy or a fresh start.
Boatright said it hasn’t always been easy.
“I think the biggest challenge is balancing life or college and also learning to take an L and keep moving,” Boatright said.
He said there’s nothing quite like an HBCU experience.
“Everybody can go to the PWI,” he said, referring to predominantly white institutions. “I’m not knocking PWIs … but the HBCU is one-of-a-kind and to truly understand that is to go there.”
He said a Milwaukee student should come see it for themselves. “Check out one of our homecomings,” Boatright said.
As more Milwaukee students look outside the state for college, their stories show what they’re searching for: a place where they feel seen, supported and pushed toward their future.
