Verlisa Renee Shanklin (Lisa Renee) is an author who self-published her first book, ‘A Black Girl Once Told Me To Never Give Up,’ on June 25, 2019, highlighting the challenges she’s faced on a personal, academic, and emotional level while striving to obtain a bachelors degree at a predominantly white university.

She also has a background in mental health and social services, which aids in her ability to not only encourage my audience but to educate them as well. 

Verlisa currently holds a master's in community counseling from Loyola University Chicago and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Verlisa facilitated her first workshop on the effects of trauma in the Black community at the Black Mental Wellness Expo on September 9th, 2019. 

By sharing her story, she hopes to encourage another young black woman to use her story to find the strength, the purpose, and the voice she thought she never had. Also, I hope to encourage dialogue about the challenges African American students face with adjusting to college life at PWI’s so that programs could be put in place to help black students to not only successfully adjust to college but graduate as well. 

Lastly, Verlisa believes that no matter how much education she receives or how far she advances in life, she is still like any other black women striving for greatness with purpose amid adversity.