Jamal Holtz Class of 2016

Interview by Aneara Burns. Photo courtesy of Twitter.

Getting involved in your community is heavily encouraged by Friendship Collegiate Academy and Jamal Holtz is a wonderful example of taking this lesson from the classroom into the real world. His passion for political activism and supporting local communities is truly admirable. I had the pleasure of talking to Holtz about his unique college experience, the importance of being a POSSE scholarship and his career goals.

Aneara: What college did you attend, and what was your major?

Jamal: I attended college at the University of Rochester, as a POSSE scholar where I created my own major called “Social Justice and Public Policy”. I graduated in 2020.

Aneara: You're a POSSE Scholar. What was important about receiving this scholarship? 

Jamal: It was definitely important to me and my family. I knew that I didn't have the ways or means to get to college financially, so I knew that I had to rely on partnerships, scholarships, and academics to be able to go to college. Going away to college isn't easy. Not just from a financial standpoint, but socially, academically and  getting engaged and involved. It was very important for me to be a part of POSSE and have a support system around me that was really focused on helping me excel as a student and really taking some of the typical stresses off, making it easier for me to focus on school and graduating.

Aneara: What was your college experience like?

Jamal: My college experience was unique because, for part of it, we were dealing with the pandemic that plagued communities across the world. So it was unique in the sense that there was a period of college where I had to virtually learn and adapt to different norms. I enjoyed my college experience. I think it challenged my skill set. It made me grow as an individual. I've learned a lot of different things and just learned a new way of thinking because of college. I was involved in student government all four years of college. I was one of the first black student body presidents, so I really got the opportunity to play a leadership role on campus. I also had friends at college who came from DC, so they understood my struggle, my upbringing, and made college much easier.

Aneara: What has your career path been like since graduating?

Jamal: I’ve always had a dream job—to either become an FBI agent, or to be the mayor of Washington, DC. And those are my dream jobs, and I never really wanted to sort of pigeonhole the work that I did. After graduating, what I started doing was thinking about the type of work that I want to do that aligned with my values, and focused on making an impact. Making an impact was my focus, and I wanted to do that with my work. So my career path has really been like, how do I do work that aligns with doing good? How do I get the opportunity to make money while also doing this on behalf of the communities in which I serve? I wouldn't do any type of work or take any type of job that isn't focused on serving people or having some sort of positive impact.

Aneara: Were you a part of any extracurricular activities during your time at Collegiate?

Jamal: Every year was a little bit different. I was in and out of sports. I was involved in some of the student council stuff, I did the morning announcements, and a lot of local non-profit types of work within the school. 

Aneara: What is one lesson that Collegiate taught you about life after high school or life in general?

Jamal: That's a good question. In high school, teachers would tell us to look to our left and right. They’d say, look around at your peers in the classroom because they won't be friends seven years from now. I always thought it was a myth or something, that it was just based on the individual, because I always try to maintain strong relationships with people. But I feel like as you're starting to become an adult, and start focusing on the things that are critical to your livelihood and growth, you may lose some friends along the way. I learned the impact of what it means to network, what it means to be in another community, because that's what we did a lot of in high school. 

Aneara: What advice would you give to the Class of 2023? 

Jamal: To always focus on always focusing. Think about how you can do better, how you can do more and understand that there will always be challenges that exist in life. It's how we deal with those challenges that makes us better, and experiences teach us many lessons. The more you can expose yourself to new, creative and innovative things, whether it's outside of your comfort zone or not, that 'll pay off in the long run. 

Aneara Burns is a sophomore at Arizona State University.