Inaugural HBCU fair welcomes over 600

College Counseling and Diversity & Community Life offices teamed up to host a community-wide event for Black students and families.
By Sierra Smith, Communications Specialist

When University School of Nashville’s Class of 2021 — the largest class of Black students in school history — began the college process, students expressed a great deal of interest in learning more about historically Black colleges and universities, and seven went on to enroll in HBCUs. This matched the national trend of enrollment surges at HBCUs in recent years and planted a seed in the minds of those within USN’s Diversity & Community Life and College Counseling offices. 

Fast forward to Saturday, August 27 and Sperling Gym is flooded with over 600 local students and families for USN’s first HBCU College Fair. 

Just under 1,000 people registered for the opportunity to meet with representatives from the 11 schools in attendance — Spelman College, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Fisk University, Norfolk State University, Tuskegee University, Talladega College, Tougaloo College, Alabama A&M University, Bethune-Cookman University, and American Baptist College. As the afternoon wrapped, it was an apparent success — students piled back on buses buzzing as they perused the brochures they’d collected, and families beamed as they imagined students thriving on the campuses represented. 

While the idea to host an HBCU fair formed initially as an answer to USN’s own student needs, it was immediately apparent that the event should be public. 

“Nashville is an incredibly diverse city. In the last census, 27% of Davidson County residents identified as African American or Black. If we tried to host an HBCU college fair for only USN students or a handful of other independent schools, college representatives would be less likely to fly from out of state just to see our students,” College Counseling Director Aaron Fulk shared. “If we could host a larger fair, we could attract more HBCUs and also provide an incredible service for all Nashville students.”

“USN has always been to me a private school with a public purpose,” Office of Diversity & Community Life Director Roderick White added. “All students, no matter where they attend high school, who want to attend college should have the opportunity to get informed about the admissions process, and we have a responsibility to assist in any way we can to make that a reality.” 

After leveraging a plethora of community contacts, reaching out to countless college counselors in the city, and publicizing the event with the help of USN parents, faculty, and staff, the day of the inaugural event came. Staring out into the packed bleachers, Black Student Union President Gabby White ’23 opened the event with a welcome address to the many enthusiastic families present — in her words, “Black excellence in Nashville” looked back at her. 

Many of the colleges in attendance offered onsite acceptances, representatives advised interested students of several merit-based awards they could receive during the fair, and one family even shared that prior to USN’s fair, they’d been planning to travel to Indiana for the nearest HBCU fair that they could find. 

“It was like seeing a physical representation of our institution living up to its mission,” Fulk said.

“Having attended Tennessee State [University] myself, I had the opportunity to experience what it meant to have a community all around you in college,” White shared. “I wouldn’t trade the experiences that I had at TSU for anything, and as HBCUs continue to receive the credit that they’re due in higher education, I hope that students continue to take advantage of these wonderful opportunities.” 

The event was co-sponsored by Harpeth Hall and Ensworth School to leverage additional community contacts and ensure as many Black Nashvillians as possible knew about the fair. Both Fulk and White expressed that their offices have high hopes for the next HBCU fair on campus and aim to welcome over 1,000 people next year.  
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