Ivannah & Imanii Johnson

Student

“All you have to do is tell someone, ‘Oh, I’m an SMC student,’ and their whole attitude changes. The reputation here is that good.”

Everybody at the Women’s Center, where Ivannah Johnson is a work-study student, loves Imanii. “She is a busy-body little girl,” says a proud mom as her daughter gurgled in the background. “We kind of put our heads together at one point and said, ‘Okay, we did the mom-and-daughter thing. Now, let’s go do the school thing.’ And it’s really working out great for us,” says Ivannah. “Being a single parent is hard, but my mom helps take care of Imanii, so I’m not worried: Mom did a pretty darn good job with me.”

Ivannah is considering majoring in both Sociology and Business, for very different reasons. “My dad went into Sociology, and I’m very, very pleased with him for that,” says Ivannah. “And I’m very interested in Economics because I met a man who was retired at 35. When he told me I needed to study money and how it works, I listened. Being 35 and having the whole day to do as you will is a definite perk,” she says with a laugh.

Determined that women can succeed in any non-traditional field that they set their sites on, Ivannah plans on making the move—soon—to UC Berkeley. “I’ve got about a 3.2 GPA now, but I’m a single parent and I work, so I trust that they’ll take all that into account. But I just went up there to tour the school, and I’m thoroughly impressed with Berkeley.”

Discussing plans for her daughter’s future, Ivannah says, “I want more to be a parent than a friend to her. And I want to be able to give her good choices so that, when it’s time for her to go college, she’ll be able to choose exactly what she wants.”

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