Alumni Alyeecia Knight (left), Miranda Menard (middle), and Bailee Walker (right) posing on the couches in the UO Black Cultural Center wearing the BCC stoles that every student who participates in Black Grad Celebration receives upon graduating.
From strangers to best friends
How the Black Cultural Center built a friendship between Bailee Walker, BS ’21 (public relations), and Alyeecia Knight, BA ’21 (general social science).
Story by Sage Kiernan-Sherrow and Rosie Martin
Alyeecia Knight, BA ’21 (general social science) and Bailee Walker, BS ’22 (public relations), were both searching for community when they came to the University of Oregon. They found that, and each other, through the Black Cultural Center (BCC), where they also learned valuable life lessons that have propelled them in their careers.
“I feel like the BCC came at the right time for me because I was starting to get more involved in campus in general, but I still didn’t feel like I had a place,” Walker says, “I found the BCC and was like ‘this is my home’.”
Knight and Walker were among the BCC’s first student workers, operating as center assistants before progressing into more specialized roles—Knight as its public relations and events assistant, and Walker as its digital media lead. Both feel that the BCC directly helped them develop personally and professionally.
"I think being at the BCC as a center assistant and having students come in and ask you questions . . . was really helpful in the sense of getting out of my shell,” Knight says.
Knight and Walker agree that their positive experiences at the BCC were fostered by Dr. Aris Hall, the center’s director. Knight specifically recalls struggling with shyness and social anxiety before working at the BCC. One of the lessons that she learned from Dr. Hall is to speak intentionally so that you don’t have regrets and remain authentic to yourself regardless of how people interpret your words. Dr. Hall’s confidence left a big impression on Knight.
“I remember seeing her at our first staff meeting and she walked in there and she was like so confident and sure of herself . . . I remember I wanted to be like that,” she says. “Being in that space and having her as a mentor and someone to look up to really helped me personally, just her constantly telling me that like she believes in me and like she's in my corner and that she supports me. I love her and I wouldn't have her without that space, so I love that space.”
The alums say they carry the lessons they’ve learned from Dr. Hall everywhere they go. Walker mentions that Dr. Hall’s guidance combined with the “comforting” response from allied students during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 helped her finally feel like she was seen.
“Radical acceptance of yourself no matter where you are is what the BCC taught me because before I didn’t fully lean into my Blackness, I just kind of tried to assimilate myself no matter where I was and fit the vibe of where I was instead of being who I wanted to be and I feel like the BCC and Dr. Hall definitely helped me get out there,” Walker says.
Today, the best friends live hundreds of miles apart—Knight in Massachusetts working for Harvard University Athletic Department as an accounting assistant and Walker in Denver working at Matter Communications as an assistant account executive —but they still look fondly on their experiences at the BCC.
The duo recalls how the center helped them achieve career success and Knight explains how the support that Dr. Hall gave them during their job searches makes them still want to run to the BCC when they have a tough day.
“Applying to that job changed my life and the trajectory of my career,” Knight says. “I'm grateful that I found the community that propelled me to become a better person, a better student and a better professional. The BCC shaped me to be in the position I am today. I hope that it impacts students the way it did me.”
Walker is looking forward to getting married in 2025 with Knight as her maid of honor. Of course, the first person they sent a wedding invitation to was Dr. Hall.
“Can you believe that we met at the BCC and we've been best friends ever since?” they laugh.