Kaila Love

I wasn’t given the best circumstances and I was never supposed to be successful. I badly wanted to escape the generational cycle of single-family homes, poverty, lack of resources/education, violence, etc. and I saw college as a way of doing that. When I was a homeless teen, sleeping in my car, it gave me the hope to continue waking up every morning and trying to make something of myself. Now, I’m able to come back to my community and show the youth that I’ve been where they are, but that is a way out. I developed skills as a young professional through working at 10,000 Degrees as a Fellow. Now, I’ve been able to take those skills to give back to my community through education, events, and my online content creation. I’m paving the way for independent music artists (especially women) and young entrepreneurs. I am a proud Board Member of Hip Hop for Change, an organization that produces community-controlled Hip Hop for education and financial empowerment! One of my proudest moments was performing at my graduation for 30,000 people and dedicating the performance to my brother, who was murdered a few months prior. I was never able to give him much in this life, but I have some comfort knowing that I gave him that.