UMSI student Joshua Mollison to represent U-M during Michelle Obama livestream conversation
Thursday, 11/04/2021
If you could ask lawyer, writer and former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama one question, what would it be?
Joshua Mollison, a senior in the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI) Bachelor of Science in Information program, is turning that over in his head right now.
Michelle Obama is taking her book tour to college campuses, virtually, on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. EST. She will appear in a livestream conversation with students from 22 colleges across the country. Josh, a James B. Angell scholar, was selected to represent the University of Michigan at the event.
The event, BECOMING: Michelle Obama in Conversation, is free and open to U-M students, faculty and staff. It is not open to members of the general public. Students, faculty and staff must register with their umich.edu email addresses by Nov. 5 at 11:59 p.m. at: RSVP.MichelleObamaInConversation.com.
Learning how to swerve
While considering what question to bring to one of the world’s most influential public figures, Josh is thinking about how he connected his own background and upbringing with Obama’s best-selling memoir, Becoming.
Josh, from Brooklyn, New York, grew up in a tight-knit Caribbean-American family and neighborhood. He says he saw parallels reading about the role family has played in Obama’s life.
“On many fronts I'm learning about more than just the first lady Michelle Obama,” Josh says, “about who she was growing up.”
He’s folding lessons from Becoming on staying grounded in your heritage, leaning on your support system, and staying true to yourself into his approach to life during his last year of undergrad.
One of the most essential themes of Becoming for Josh centered on learning how to swerve, or adapting to new situations on the fly.
“I feel like I really connected with that, coming from my background,” Josh says. “My mom homeschooled me and my brother from kindergarten up until high school, and then we went to public high school in Brooklyn. Then coming to Michigan, and now having this opportunity — throughout my life I’ve encountered a lot of different environments, a lot of different situations.”
Bridge to Michigan
Josh credits his family with encouraging him to seek out learning opportunities far and wide. With interests in user experience design and storytelling, Josh joined the Summer Bridge Scholars Program, a seven-week academic program that supports talented scholars in their transition from high school to the University of Michigan.
“Coming to Michigan, I found what I was looking for in the School of Information,” Josh says. “I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do at UMSI, but I knew I wanted to be at UMSI.”
After completing the Summer Bridge Scholars program, Josh was able to connect with UMSI through the Campus Connections program, in which students spend four weeks with a department on campus networking, asking critical questions and enhancing their collegiate careers.
“That’s how I became a preferred admit, in a sense,” Josh says. “But it was through taking the prerequisite UMSI courses that I saw that the learning environment felt supportive, and the classes were interesting and relevant to what I wanted to learn.”
An amplifier of student voices
Josh elevates his peers’ voices while seeking to understand how DEI work functions at an institutional level as a member of the School of Information Bachelor's Association (SIBA) and as the student representative to UMSI’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee.
“When I joined the DEI committee, it was for me to get a sense of what UMSI was doing in response to everything coming off of 2020,” Josh says. “Schools across the nation aren’t necessarily the most inclusive of students like myself. This was an opportunity to meet some of the people who are passionate about making change, learn their intentions and refocus their vision of what inclusion looks like accordingly. I wanted to be in that circle to educate myself about how things really work and, being in my position as a Black student, to advocate for the needs of Black scholars on our campus.”
Josh says he made it a point of his own to help raise other Black students within the BSI program, asking them about their concerns and bringing those concerns to the DEI committee.
“I want to make sure that everyone is heard, because while there may not be a lot of us here, not everyone has the same experience as Black students,” Josh says.
Josh is also a member of Black@SI, an academic and social support network that serves Black students, alumni and associates of UMSI.
Josh says, “We try to be inclusive and have a space where we can come together and have a group chat and host events, just give space to vent or learn from alumni we invite.”
Inspiring conversation awaits
Josh first encountered the opportunity to represent U-M at the livestream conversation with Michelle Obama in an email he received through his job at U-M’s Trotter Multicultural Center.
Josh prepared a short essay and two-minute video application, reckoning: “What do I have to lose?”
Now, he’s got new experience and insight from Michelle Obama to gain as he heads to Prince George’s Community College just outside of Washington, D.C. for the event with students from 21 other colleges across the country. Actress Yara Shahidi, best known for her work on the sitcoms “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish,” will moderate the event.
“I’m excited to walk around, see the sights and be back on the East Coast,” Josh says. “I definitely hope to meet the other students, learn about them and connect with them.”
What will he ask Michelle Obama? The UMSI community will have to tune in at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9 to find out.
“I hope those from UMSI and U-M will attend the event and read Becoming,” Josh says. “Even if you’re not a fan of her story, the craftsmanship behind Michelle Obama’s book is captivating. Learning about her real, raw story and just how much of a role family plays, how she dealt with criticism, I think is very important and could touch a lot of people. It’s an inspiring story whether you’re a senior about to go into industry or grad school or a freshman who just came from high school.”
Josh anticipates graduating in spring 2022.
RSVP for the Tuesday, Nov. 9 livestream conversation with Michelle Obama here.
Learn more about UMSI’s Bachelor of Science in Information program and how to apply.